The phone buzzed in Natsu's hand, the number still flashing on the screen. He hurried away from the café, weaving through the mass of people crowding the streets. Spying a deserted space between two nearby buildings, he slipped away from the crowd, blending into the shadows as he leaned against the stone exterior. He peered into the dark surrounding him, checking to make sure there were no unwanted ears about. Satisfied that he was alone, Natsu finally accepted the call.
"You better have information for me," Natsu growled low into the phone.
"Salamander," a familiar voice whined on the other end of the call. "You're always so rude to me and my nose. That's not a proper greeting at all."
"Ichiya," he growled again. Natsu was not in the mood to deal with Ichiya's antics. It seemed like his informant had impeccable timing as always. Just when he was about to have some fun with Lucy and then-
"Meeen! I didn't interrupt something, did I?" Ichiya gasped. "You're with this 'friend' of yours aren't you? Oh! How is that going? Meeeen, even from here I can smell-"
"The next time you speak, it better be about the information I need on a certain princess, or I'm going to be a little more than just rude." Natsu closed his eyes and spoke through gritted teeth. Why did his best informant have to be so….Was there even a word to describe him? Usually, it didn't take this long for Ichiya to gather information on someone. He was shockingly capable with a 24-hour turnaround. Natsu needed to know the motives of the rival Boss. If he knew what the reason was behind the princess's kidnapping, he could better predict his moves. What was this damn personal matter really about anyway? There was a long pause on the phone, followed by a low grumbling of words Natsu couldn't make out. Two loud sniffs later, Ichiya spoke.
"Meeen! It's always the threats and glares with you Salamander. You're always one for the dramatics." Natsu was about to unleash a wave of new threats, but luckily for his informant, Ichiya continued. "It seems your suspicions were warranted, Salamander. The information I gathered is too sensitive to pass over the phone. Even with all the precautions you take with your secured line, I wouldn't risk it. It'll be delivered with the most lovely bouquet of flowers, though. You're fond of sunflowers, I remember."
"Sunflowers? Yeah, sure," Natsu continued on with their code. "Where will the bouquet be delivered?"
"Sending the location over to you now." Natsu felt his phone buzz, notifying the location had been sent to him.
"Got it."
"One more thing Salamander," Ichiya sniffed again. Ichiya's voice lost its usual bright and cheerful tones and became serious. "Though, I know how fearsome you can be, don't underestimate this cold wind. I smell a blizzard coming." Natsu's body stilled.
What had Ichiya discovered? He thought as Natsu ended the call. He opened up the message Ichiya had sent and decoded it to get the coordinates it indicated. Luckily, the delivery location wasn't too far away. He needed to grab the information and get back to Lucy as soon as possible. Ichiya's warning still echoed in his mind as he reentered the crowd. Whatever Ichiya had discovered about the princess's past was unsettling enough to make him warn Natsu. It looked like he had to think of a different tactic to finding the rival Boss's location. And soon.
Just what is the princess hiding?
Following the coordinates, Natsu ended up at an empty bench along the canal. Looking around, there was no one that immediately jumped out to him that Ichiya could have sent. He sat down and waited, pretending to be a tired tourist taking a break from the sights, all the while running through the information he had.
Based on Lucy's knowledge, the princess was only an artist―a second-rate artist. Well, maybe a half-step above second-rate if he caught the eye of Juvia Lockser. And Gold Pistol brought Gray over to Italy as a birthday present. Then again, Gold Pistol always had unusual tastes. Natsu remembered Lucy saying she met the princess about five years ago when she first moved to New York. In that span of time, nothing had jumped out to her as strange, and his actions seemed normal. Lucy truly believed her friend was an innocent victim in this whole scenario. Natsu, however, believed otherwise, and his proof lied in the information that Ichiya was able to sniff out. Whatever secrets her friend tried to keep buried would help discover why this Boss had gone to so much trouble in the first place to kidnap him.
But why now ? Natsu thought, staring up into the sky. It was a clear day with no clouds in sight. The sun beamed down on the city, unrelenting as the heat of the day swelled. Why did the Boss wait until now to handle his "personal matter ?" He didn't want to admit it, but this "treasure hunt" was becoming more and more complicated. There were too many questions and not enough answers. Being ignorant in the Underworld was dangerous with deadly consequences.
Sighing, Natsu dropped his gaze from the sky and looked back at the stream of people walking past him, his impatience growing. Movement to his left caught his attention, and his eyes darted to see a figure cutting through the crowd directly towards him.
"Sally!" The figure emerged, calling out to him. Natsu looked around, thinking he was being confused with someone else. A beautiful, long-limbed blonde skipped the distance between them before snuggling up to him on the bench. "I've missed you so much, Sally-Drally," she cooed, looping her arm through his.
"I'm not-" She cut him off by placing a finger gently against his lips and gave him a subtle wink. It was then that he noticed the girl was wearing a dress covered in sunflowers.
' It'll be delivered with the most lovely bouquet of flowers, though. You're fond of sunflowers, I remember. ' Ichiya's words repeated in Natsu's head, and everything clicked into place. She had the information he needed. This was one of Ichiya's "Flowers." Like his white clad workers at Pegasus, Ichiya's Flowers' work revolved around gathering information, except the Flowers were a mobile operation. Natsu had encountered them for years, secretly dropping off information to him whenever he requested Ichiya's help. Men, women, young, old—the Flowers were an extensive group of people that infiltrated several organizations in order to keep Ichiya informed. Despite the innocence of their name, the Flowers were brutal when it came to gathering information. Natsu thought they resembled weeds more than flowers.
"Sally-Lally, I bet you're surprised to see me, aren't you?" She smiled up at him again, removing her finger from his lips and batting her long eyelashes.
Natsu didn't know how to respond. He knew this was all another act, but— What the hell is up with this damn 'Sally' shit anyway? Natsu thought, his eyebrow twitching. He made a note in his mind to have a special talk with Ichiya on how to properly deliver information. He coughed, recovering himself and forced a smile of his own, though it looked more like a grimace.
"Indeed I am…um…dear." His words were rigid and clearly forced. It's so much easier to pretend with Lucy .
"You don't seem happy at all to see your Sunny-Hunny, Sally-Wally." The girl rolled her eyes and unlooped their arms, crossing her own and pouted.
"Don't be like that." He took a deep breath and made his forced grin even wider. "See…Sunny-Hunny." Best informant be damned. I'm going to kill Ichiya.
Throwing her arms around him, the girl snuggled closer to Natsu again. All he could think about was how this scene might look, and he was thankful that he left Lucy at that café. There was no way he wanted her to see him acting like this. She would make fun of him all night long and never let him hear the end of it. These pet names were killing him.
"I even wore the perfume you liked so much." The girl—Sunny—moved her curtain of blonde hair to one side, exposing her neck. "This perfume was hard to find, but I know how much you love this scent, Sally-Tally." She dropped her voice low, speaking seductively yet lacing her words with another meaning as she tilted her head invitingly.
Natsu understood the meaning of the gesture and reached to cradle her cheek, going along with the act. He shifted on the bench and leaned in to close the distance. His back and arms blocked most of the girl's actions from view, and they both tilted their heads, so no one noticed as she lifted a hand to his chest, slipping in a small flash drive in his shirt pocket.
"How could you, Sally-Dally," Sunny gasped pulling away from Natsu suddenly. He stared at her, blinking in confusion at her angry features. "I smell another woman's perfume on you! After I came all this way to surprise you, too." Tears welled up in her eyes as she continued on with her dramatics.
"Uh…I-" Murder. I'll murder him. Brutally. Ichiya you've gone too far.
"Don't try to deny it, Sally-Cally. How could you hurt your Sunny-Bunny like this?" The girl stood from the bench and looked down at him. Her tears were already dry, and he could see the glint of humor in her eyes. "We're through. I can't be with a cheater. Goodbye, Sally-Mally." Sunny flipped her long blonde hair as she dramatically left Natsu on the bench, his eyebrow still twitching with his growing aggravation. His forced smile collapsed as he ground his teeth. He caught bits of passing conversations from people who had witnessed the scene, all whispering about the tragedy of love affairs.
I'm not going to be satisfied with just killing Ichiya , Natsu thought as he stood from the bench, hurrying away from the scene, the flash drive weighing down his front pocket. Ichiya needs to suffer. I'll kill him. Bring him back to life. And kill him again.
Everything had taken much longer than Natsu had anticipated. He wanted to check out the information right away, but it would have to wait. He needed to get back to the café quickly. With Ichiya's warning, things weren't really safe at the moment. Getting back to the hotel now was more important. Natsu knew he could handle any threats that came from the rival Boss, but Lucy wasn't adept to living in this world. She wasn't a fighter and couldn't even defend herself properly. He didn't want to bring Lucy to Venice in the first place. When he told her about the wolves of the mafia, he had hoped it would deter her, scare her enough to let him handle things by himself, but she was such a stubborn CEO.
The only reason he had brought Lucy along to Venice was that he knew she would never wait for him at Cana's house in Rome—like he wanted her to. She was so stubborn when it came to personally rescuing her friend. Instead of getting into a pointless argument, he came up with the whole fake marriage scheme. He never thought she would agree to it. However, since she surprisingly did agree, it was a good excuse for them to constantly be together, so he could keep tabs on her. If they did run into trouble, he would be there to protect her. Natsu was more than confident in his own abilities.
However, he never thought Lucy would be so good at acting. Nor did he expect how easy it was for him to pretend, either. There were times when he had to remind himself that this was only pretend. Nonetheless, sometimes, she would look at him or say his name, and he wondered, for the first time, what it would be like to share a life with someone. For the times when he couldn't tell the difference between pretend and reality, his heart tightened with fear. Natsu wanted to be close to Lucy—that was the truth. He wanted to show her that she could rely on him, that she could trust him, yet he had to remind himself not to get too close. If he let himself get carried away, he didn't know if he could hold himself back, and that was dangerous for both of them for several reasons—none that Lucy would ever know.
Still, for some reason, it was just too much fun teasing her. Natsu wondered if he could somehow pick up where they had left off. No doubt Lucy was going to be pissed that he made her wait so long. Maybe they would buy more gelato before they headed back. She had definitely surprised him with her bold move. He wanted to see what else she would do if he provoked her enough. Chuckling to himself, he reentered the café but paused when he didn't spot Lucy right away. He scanned the entire store, but those large brown eyes he had continually gotten lost in were nowhere to be found.
She might be in the restroom. Spotting the waiter that had taken their orders, Natsu went up to him and asked him in Italian if he had seen his wife around the café.
"She left the café a little while ago and went that way, sir," the waiter responded in Italian, pointing in the direction Natsu had just come. That worried him. Surely, he would have spotted her in the crowd if they passed one another. Even in her disguise, Natsu would recognize her immediately. Didn't I tell her to stay here?
"You're the one with the pretty brunette from earlier." A waitress stopped in front of them, a tray of dirty dishes stacked high in her hands. She looked at Natsu, giving him a hard glare.
"Yes, that's my wife. I had to step out for a moment, but now it seems she wandered off," he responded tightly. He didn't know what he did to piss this waitress off, but he didn't appreciate the glare she was giving him.
"No doubt to get away from you," the waitress grumbled.
"Orsina," the other waiter snapped. "Don't talk to our customers like that." Orsina just rolled her eyes.
"I don't care if he's a customer or not, Masimo," she shot back, speaking rapidly in Italian. "Why else would his wife look so upset when she ran past here? I've seen enough couples to know the look of a breaking heart on a woman's face. So I'm not going to hold my tongue against the culprit."
"Sir, I apologize for my co-worker. She recently broke up with her boyfriend, so she might be-" Masimo tried to explain, but Natsu didn't care about any of that.
"She looked upset?" Something in Natsu's chest tightened. She didn't see me with Sunny, did she? But that wouldn't upset her…would it? No, stop being vain. Of course something else happened. Something's not right.
"She was clearly fighting back tears, running down the street like she was trying to get away from something-or someone." The waitress eyed Natsu.
"Which way did she go? Tell me." He was already looking out the windows that lined the front of the café to see if somehow he could see which direction Lucy had gone. He shifted his gaze back to Orsina. "Please."
Orsina stared at him hard for a long moment, her glare boring into his pleading eyes. Orsina rolled her shoulders, making the dishes clink together. "She went left then went over the bridge," she relented.
"Thank you," Natsu managed to say, before he bolted out the door, taking a left and running across the bridge Orsina had indicated. He kept running, not really sure where he was going, his eyes scanning the faces he ran past in hopes one of them would be Lucy.
Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn . The feeling in his chest tightened with every step he took. He couldn't explain it, but something felt off. He had to find Lucy. Fast. Up ahead, his heart skipped when he saw a woman with the same brown hair as Lucy's wig. It's her. He reached out, grabbing the girl's shoulder.
"Lucy!" The girl turned around, but it wasn't her. Natsu mumbled an apology to the stranger as he continued on with his search. He visited all the shops that the two had went to earlier, retracing their route and then searched new ones. Stopping random people on the street, he asked if they had seen her. Nothing. It was like she had vanished.
Why was she upset? Orsina said she was running. Was it because of Gold Pistol's men? Were they chasing her? No, her disguise was good enough. They couldn't recognize her. His men are idiots. Natsu tried to calm himself down, but it just made his anxiety increase.
There was another reason why he wanted Lucy to wear a disguise. He initially told her it was to keep the rival Boss's goons from recognizing her as the princess's friend. However, that wasn't the real truth. Natsu wasn't concerned with the rival Boss's men when it came to her. He was sure that their only objective was to use the princess to settle some personal matter. Lucy wasn't in danger because of that mafia Boss. No, it was Gold Pistol's men of whom he was wary. Juvia's threat still lingered over Lucy's head, and Natsu wasn't going to take any chances of one of Gold Pistol's men making that threat a reality.
He took a moment to catch his breath when he saw it: tufts of brown hair poking out of a trashcan. He pulled out a brown wig from the rubbish. Bits of trash were entangled in the locks now, but there was no mistaking it. It was Lucy's.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Natsu swore under his breath as he tossed the wig back into the trash. This wasn't good. If Lucy didn't have her disguise on, then any random member of Gold Pistol's men could spot her. Juvia had given the order to have Lucy killed in the initial meeting. The Italian Mafia now viewed Lucy as an obstacle to her happiness. No doubt the goons present during that whole fiasco spread the word of the unfulfilled order. Even though the Italian Mafia was all bronze, they knew how to wait. The moment Natsu was away, they would pounce. It was okay since she was disguised, but now the wolves could hunt. It would be a race to see who could get to Lucy first.
"Damn it!" He growled as he continued on searching, running faster. Digging his phone out of his pocket as he ran, Natsu dialed a number quickly. On the fourth ring, the person finally picked up.
"Salamander! It's so good of you to call. I was wondering when I might hear from you. I take it you're calling because you found my treasure?"
"Call them off," Natsu demanded. "Call them off now, Gold Pistol, or so help me-"
"Whatever are you talking about Salamander?" the Italian Mafia Boss asked.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about." He ran across another bridge, heading to parts of the city Lucy and him had visited earlier in the week. "Your goons are after Lucy ever since Juvia told them to kill her." The memory of the men leaping over the desk and pinning Lucy down flashed in his mind as he continued searching. The knife plunging towards her heart. He had been there to stop it. To protect her. Now, would he be able to make it in time? "Juvia never told them to stop trying to kill my partner, did she?"
"Hmmm." There was a long pause on the other end of the line. He heard the tap tap tap as Gold Pistol drummed his finger on a desk. "Now that you mention it, I don't think my niece did."
"So stop them," he snarled. Standing in the middle of Saint Mark's Square, Natsu scanned the crowds. He spun around and around, so many faces, but none of them hers.
"You and I both know if Juvia gives an order, there's nothing I can do to stop it. If you want them to stop, you'll need Juvia to command them," Gold Pistol responded, a little irritated to admit his niece's true power over the Italian Mafia.
"Put her on the phone then. I'll-"
"I'm afraid I can't do that either. You see, my niece has stepped out for a bit."
"What?" Natsu shouted. People stopped and stared at Natsu, others scurried away from him, as if feeling the murderous rage pooling off of him, but he didn't care. There was so much rage; it was beating against his bones. He wanted to climb through the phone and beat the Italian Boss to make him stop his men.
"How interesting." Gold Pistol perked up, ceasing his tapping fingers. "I've never heard you act like this. The arrogant and terrifying Salamander freaking out over a mere girl. I never pinned you as a romantic, but—" The Boss laughed, and the sound scraped against Natsu's ears. "Oh, this is gold. Pure gold. Does she even know the truth about who you are? Oh, wait," Gold Pistol paused to cackle some more. "No, of course she doesn't. If she did, she wouldn't let you anywhere near her. This is almost like Romeo and Juliet."
Natsu ground his teeth together. His hand trembled and gripped the phone tighter, pressing it hard against his ear. His free hand curled and uncurled into a fist as he moved away from the crowded square and stalked down another street.
"Oh, Romeo," Gold Pistol sighed. "Don't tell me you let your lovely, smart-mouthed Juliet run around Italy without you? Given that there is a death order on her head...Well, I don't want to be the one tell you how to do your job, but was that really wise?"
"If you can't stop your men, tell me where she is. I'll put an end to this myself."
"I'm afraid I can't do that either."
"Gold Pistol," Natsu snapped.
"Calm down, Salamander. None of my men have informed me they have your Juliet. That is—not yet anyway. But if she is running around Italy without you, it won't be long before she's really captured. The only way to ensure her safety is to locate the treasure my dear niece wants. Look at this as another incentive to find that boy." Natsu's grip on his phone slacked.
"I don't need to tell you what I'll do if anything happens to her," Natsu spoke, exerting such effort to keep his voice measured—a faux level of calm etched into his words.
"I wonder, Salamander, who will be first?" Gold Pistol snickered. "My men finding your Juliet, or you finding the treasure? What a shame it would be if our modern day Romeo and Juliet ended as another tragedy."
"I'm not going to forget this, Gold Pistol."
"You better hurry now. You know how hungry my wolves can be." The call ended, Gold Pistol's cackle ringing in Natsu's ears.
"DAMN!" His fist slammed into the brick wall beside him. The stone cracked, and dust sprayed out, his blood smearing as he dragged his hand away. When it came to finding Gray, Gold Pistol's men were hopeless. The princess was being held captive by another mafia Boss who knew how their Underworld worked. Lucy was just a girl from New York. She lived a sheltered life and had no clue how to defend herself. She was easy prey for the Italian wolves. The sun was setting now. He could hear the chimes of St. Mark's Clocktower marking the hour. The lamplights flickered to life. Natsu had promised Lucy he would get her—and the princess— back to New York safely. There was no way he was going to break his promise. They haven't found her yet. There's still time. I can still find her. Regardless, even as he thought this, Natsu's chest tightened.
It had been hours. Yet, there was still no sign of Lucy. Natsu exited the elevator, walking to their honeymoon suite slowly. It was his last hope. If she wasn't here, then….He didn't want to finish that thought. Where else would she be? Thinking about it now, it seemed silly. He should have checked here first, instead of running around Venice like a crazy person.
He had overreacted. Ichiya's warning, and Gold Pistol, had gotten under his skin. He needed to calm down. Gold Pistol's men didn't find her. Lucy was fine. She would be pouting in the hotel room, and he would apologize for whatever he did that upset her. He stopped outside of their door, the key inside the lock. All he had to do was open the door, and she would be there—flipping her blonde hair, glaring with her brown eyes, and saying some sarcastic remark with her sharp tongue. Lucy would be there, and he would know she was safe. Opening the door, he flipped the lights on and looked around the room.
Empty.
The door closed behind him, and he leaned against it for support. This wasn't supposed to be what he saw. She was supposed to be here. He had looked everywhere and this was the last place she could be. Should be. The room, however, was empty of her, except for her pink duffle bag. This was all wrong. Something was terribly wrong, and the feeling that he had felt back in the café made his whole chest ache.
His phone began to ring violently, and Natsu snatched it from his pocket. His thoughts immediately went to Lucy. She was calling him to let him know she got another hotel room or that she was lost and needed him to help her or just calling him to yell at him. He didn't care what it was as long as he knew she was safe. But the number that flashed on the phone wasn't Lucy's. The hope that rose fell again. She couldn't be calling him. Her phone didn't work overseas. He cursed himself for not giving her a temporary phone. He didn't think she would need it since he wasn't going to let her out of his sight….
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid." He banged his head against the door in time with his words. He had been careless. Now, his carelessness had gotten him in this situation where Lucy was missing with Gold Pistol's men after her, and he had no way of reaching her.
The angry ringing of his phone pulled him from his thoughts. The number that flashed didn't belong to Lucy's phone but to the burner he had given Toby.
"This better be—" Natsu started off, but Toby rushed out two words that stopped him. He hadn't heard him correctly. There had to be some mistake. His blood rushed to his ears, and he shook his head. "What did you just say?" he asked slowly, finding it hard to speak.
"Lucy Heartfilia," Toby repeated. "That's the name of the second person the Boss was looking for."
His heart dropped. The blood rushing in his ears roared louder, and he jammed the phone hard against his ear to listen to the rest of Toby's words.
"Sherry…I mean, one of the members of the Boss's crew just sent out a message, bragging that she picked up a Lucy Heartfilia today. Apparently, that's who they've been searching for all this time. The Boss is calling everyone back to Venice, so he can reveal the next part of his plan. I'll be heading there tomorrow." Toby spoke quickly, his voice shaking at times. "Now that I told you, we're good right? I filled my side of the promise so—"
"No," Natsu said, the phone trembling in his hand. He pushed off from the door and crossed the room. How could he have missed it? He never thought the rival Boss would ever try and target Lucy. This all revolved around the princess, Gold Pistol, and Juvia. And he still didn't know where the hell this Boss was even hiding in the city.
"No," he said again, one hand on the sheer curtains, tugging them close. "Toby, you're going to come to Venice—tonight." Natsu glanced at his watch. "You'll need to run to catch the train, but you should be able to make it. I'll send you an address, and I want you to meet me there."
"A train? Ooonnn…are you serious? This late at night? It'll be a miracle if I can make it to the station in time," Toby whined.
"Toby. That wasn't a request. If I don't see you tonight, then I promise I'll make it so that no one will ever see you again." He ended the call and quickly sent the address over to him before pocketing his phone.
Natsu had been so concerned with Gold Pistol's men after Lucy, he hadn't even considered the rival Boss might come after her as well. Ichiya's warning echoed in his head, and the secrets of her friend's past burned against his chest. He dug out the flash drive in his shirt pocket, feeling the weight of the answers it possessed. He unzipped his duffle bag and placed it in a secure pocket. Looking around the room, he gathered their things and stuffed them in the respective bags, before placing both of their duffle bags by the front door.
"No need for them to get damaged," he said as he turned and faced the unsuspecting room.
Natsu was angry. No, that wasn't right. He was angry after talking with Gold Pistol. Now that he knew the rival Boss had Lucy, he was whatever emotion surpassed anger. All he could see was black. There was a white hot emotion pulsing in his blood, and he couldn't contain it. He needed to think clearly, but all his thoughts were centered around that thing flaring in his veins.
"You fucking idiot," he chastised himself, unleashing a string of verbal abuses. "You let those damn wolves sneak in and snatch whatever they wanted." He cracked his neck, rolling his shoulders to loosen some of the tension. "Now those beasts have their filthy paws all over her." Was she scared? Did they hurt her? His fingers curled and uncurled themselves into tight fists. "Damn it!"
I have to save Lucy. I will save her. And I'll make all of them pay.
"I promise."
It was roaring in his head now. That emotion needed to be let out. Natsu couldn't hold it away anymore. Flipping the light switch, he cast the room into darkness and let that emotion burn.
"You were booked for another week, are you sure you want to leave so soon, sir?" The front desk clerk took Natsu's key as he punched in the close-out information.
"Some unfinished business came up that I need to take care of," Natsu simply said.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed your time with us. The honeymoon suite you booked is one of our most popular rooms. I hope everything was to your and your wife's liking."
"Indeed it was. My wife and I greatly enjoyed it." Reaching into his wallet, Natsu pulled out a blank check and signed it. "Here you are. I think this should cover it."
"Oh, sir, you've already paid for the room. All we needed was your key." The clerk pushed the blank check back to Natsu.
"No, this is for the damages." He slid the check back across the counter.
"D-damages?" The clerk's smile faltered, eyeing the cuts and dried blood on Natsu's knuckles.
"Yeah, write whatever amount on there that will satisfy the cost." He pocketed his wallet as he motioned towards the check.
"Um..sir, we'll need you to fill out some forms, and I need to get my m-manager to discuss the proper-"
"This business of mine is urgent, so I can't stick around for that. The number under my reservation will get you in touch with my accountant, and she'll be able to handle all of that paperwork stuff. She even could get you in contact with some good contractors I know. They'll be able to get the room looking like it was in no time." Natsu grabbed the two duffle bags at his feet and smiled at the clerk, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Well, see yah."
Weaving in and out of the streets, Natsu entered a red, painted building located on the corner of the Grand Canal. He climbed the steps to the third floor and stopped outside a room labeled 2C. He reached into his duffle bag and pulled out the set of keys he used to open Cana's house in Rome. Selecting a small silver one, he fit it into the lock and opened the door. Italy was Cana's playground. She had apartments and houses all across the country. Some she bought herself; others were presents from their dads, so she would have a place to crash when she would spend all night drinking. One would think parents would not help their daughter's drinking excursions, but their parent's were anything but typical.
The apartment was small but comfortable. The living room, kitchen, and dining room made up one large room. A bedroom, bathroom, and storage closet hid behind their own separate doors. He could have selected this as their base when Lucy and he first came to Venice, but he wanted to take full advantage of their charade.
Natsu entered the apartment and kept the lights off. He set the duffle bags on the couch and extracted his laptop and Ichiya's flash drive from his bag. Plopping down on the couch as well, he booted up the machine and stuck the flash drive into the USB port. A file labeled "Princess Perfume" popped up on the screen. Moving the cursor over the file, Natsu clicked it, opening it up.
"What the hell?" Scrolling through the information, Natsu was shocked at what he found. He suspected the princess had secrets but nothing to this degree. For the most part, everything made sense now. He understood why the rival Boss considered this a personal matter. It was more like a personal vendetta to be technical. Who knew the princess kept secrets like this?
Natsu could feel his anger start to boil again. It was because of these secrets that Lucy was now being held captive by the rival Boss. She was being treated like some pawn in order to get back at the princess. That thought alone made Natsu's fingers curl into fists above the keys.
Initially, his plan was to find Lucy's stupid friend, sneak out of Italy and call it a day. But now, things had become personal for Natsu. His anger wouldn't be satisfied with just foiling the rival Boss's plans. He had made a grave error in taking Lucy. Not to mention, Gold Pistol had crossed him, and there were repercussions for doing that as well.
A hotel room was the first casualty, and it had suffered only a spark of his anger. Though his rage was still demanding more, it curled up in his heart, simmering as it waited to be unleashed. Yes, rescuing Lucy was top priority. After she was safe—and the princess too, even though Natsu wanted to leave him to rot—he would see both mafia Bosses burn. There was a reason why they called him Salamander after all.