EDIT: 9/3/2015


Having fun in Regalo?


Author's Corner!

I'm so sad. I haven't been able to do anything lately. Apparently, there have been earthquakes (according to the news) and sightings of a possible typhoon and various storms. SO I SHALL MAKE THE BEST OF WHENEVER I HAVE NET!

R&R~ Read On!


Legend: ' ' are thoughts, " " are characters speaking, *bold* are actions done by characters and sfx, italics represent past events, memories, emphasis and foreign language, and bold italics time skips.

WARNING: May contain OOC, various point-of-view, and possible lemons!


VI : Become Stronger


"Nova, they'll be here. Just sit down," I tell him. Felicità, Luca and Dante are late. I wonder what this meeting's about anyway.

"They're taking too long."

Moments Later

Felicità, Luca and...Libertà finally made it to the meeting. "The hell are you so annoyed about? Libertà asks Nova as they sit in their seats.

"Nothing really. I just don't want to waste time," Nova says.

"Where's Dante?" I ask Libertà. "Doing something at the harbour." I hum in response as Felicità and Luca take their seats.

"Let us begin. Pirates have landed on Regalo Island," Jolly informs. "Pirates?" Pace asks.

"They have kidnapped someone of importance to Regalo and are currently on the run," he continues. "Someone of importance?" Kousuke asks.

"Yes. Mondo and Monica's older brother, Moreno." A gasp from Felicità escapes her mouth as Libertà says, "Papa and Monica-sama's older brother..." The three of us look to Nova. "You mean Nova's dad?"

"As you all know, he can't escape on his own," Jolly says. "That's right. Nova's father has been in a coma due to a severe illness... A-Ah, sorry..." Pace says, apologizing to Nova afterwards. Nova looks away. "I don't mind. It's the truth." I look at Nova worriedly and mutter his name. I put my hand over his clutched one that he kept on his lap. He looks back at me, calming a bit after my gesture.

"They're asleep because I put them to sleep."

"What are they after?" Debito asks. "Who knows? I can't see a possible motive whatsoever," Jolly says. "We're going to wait for their next move. For now, you'll all be on standby."

"How can you handle this so leisurely?!" Libertà asks, abruptly getting up from his seat.

"Shut up!" Nova yells at him, causing me to wince a bit. 'That surprised me...and I'm sitting right next to him, too.'

"You are not to make a move until instructed to do so," Jolly tells us. Nova gets up from his seat and leaves the room, Libertà following him. I leave the room in suite, worried that something might happen to the two.

As I ran down the hall, I saw Libertà gripping Nova by his collar. "Why, you...stupid stubborn chickpea!" "Libertà!" I yell. "Stop calling me a chick-"

"How the hell can you be so calm when your father's been kidnapped?!" he cuts Nova off. "Step up and say you're going to save him! If it were me, I would go! If I didn't, I'd regret it for the rest of my life!"

"Libertà, knock it off!" I yell, yanking his arms off of Nova. "Hime..." Nova fixes his collar, turns around and says, "Don't forget your place." Before Nova could leave, Libertà grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and held Nova by his collar, again. "You dumbass! My place has nothing to do with this!" Nova simply glares at him in return. "Or are you going to say that you don't care what happens to your father?!"

"Of course not!" Nova yells, surprising Libertà a bit. He regains his composure and asks, "Then why aren't you going?!"

"Libertà-" I was cut off.

"Let's go save him."

The three of us turn to see..."Felicità," I blurt out. "You're right," Libertà says, letting go of Nova.

"If the four of us go, it should work out." "The four of us?" Nova asks. "You, Ojou, Hime and me, duh," Libertà tells him. "The four of us will be able to save uncle and make it back safely," Felicità says. I smile and say, "I guess you're right about that." I notice Nova turn around. "Nova?"

"Follow me. We're going to the harbour," he says, walking off. I follow behind him, leaving the other two. "See? You were worried," Libertà teases. 'Who wouldn't be worried about their own parents' I thought to myself. Felicità and Libertà catch up to us, and we make our way out of the mansion. Now...

...to keep up with this little act.


At the Harbour

"So you're certain that your dad is being held on that ship?" Libertà asks.

"I had the Holy Grail's coast guard look into it," Nova tells him. Felicità and Arianna look around. "Let's use that," Felicità says. The three look to where she was pointing: the rowboats.

After a while of silent rowing, they make their way to the ship, sneaking onto it and hiding behind some barrels.

"I'm not sensing anyone's presence at all," Nova says. "Perhaps they're all below deck," Arianna says. Nova and Libertà crouch back down behind the barrels.

"Let's split up and look for him," Libertà suggests.

"No. We don't know how many of them there are. It'd be unwise to split up our numbers without knowing," Nova says. "They could end up taking us hostage if we're not careful," Arianna adds.

The other two nod, and the four of them make their way below deck. They slowly creep into the hallway, quietly passing by the walls of the ship. There was a light in the room ahead of them. "Well, that's interesting," a voice said. Nova puts his hand up, signalling the other three to wait as he goes forward. "By the way, how long is the hostage in the cellar going to be asleep?" someone asks. "I hear he's been asleep for years," another tells him.

"For years? Why?"

"I heard Death's got his soul."

Nova signals back at the three, pointing downward. The four go a floor lower, heading for the cellar Moreno was kept in. As they make their way to the bottom of the stairs, a watch guard came from their side. Given their current choices, the teens could only hide behind the stairs. Nova and Arianna were crouching, Libertà hovering above them, and Felicità leaning on Libertà. She leaned onto him more, causing him to speak up.

"O-Ojou..." he stutters not so quietly.

"What?" she leans onto him again, her chest pressing against his back. He reacts, causing the four of them to fall to the floor. The watch guard stops in front of the stairs, looking around before whistling.

Various pirates rush to the scene, cornering the four teenagers. Nova and Libertà unsheath their swords. "Be on your guard, Ojou, Hime." "Right back at you, hotshot," Arianna tells him, taking out her katana. Felicità takes out her knives from their holsters.

Pirates charge at them from all sides, each teen taking out one of four sides. However, more pirates come from the upper level. "Still so many of them?"

"Leave it to me!" Felicità says, moving forward. "Felictià, don't be reckless!" Arianna yells at her cousin. She throws a kick at one, only to be tripped in return. "Ojou!"

"I-I'm fine," she says, holding her behind as she walks back to her comrades. "Nova, leave these guys to us. Hurry and find your dad!" Libertà tells him.

"That's my line."

"What?!"

"You actually think the three of you could handle this many?" Nova asks him. Irritated, Libertà moves closer to him, "What the hell?! Are you saying that you can?" Arianna's eyes widen as he says this and turns to look at Nova. "Nova, don't tell me you..." she trails off, now knowing what her cousin was going to do.

"That's right... I have the power of Death."

He moves in front of his friends, "Go!" "Nova!" Arianna yells at him. "You're in the way. Go!" he yells, the pirates moving in. "Got it! Come on, Ojou! Hime!" The three of them leave Nova to take care of the pirates.

"La Tenebrore Addormentato!" (A/N: This means "The Dark Dream" and is an ability used to put people to temporary or eternal slumber.)

Arianna, Felicità and Libertà look back, catching glimpse of Nova's Tarocco stigmata on the nape of his neck.

"Sleep!"

One by one, the pirates fall to the floor. "This is...Nova's Arcana power?" Felicità asks. Arianna runs back to Nova, steadying him as he falls to his knees. "Nova!"

"If you're going to go, hurry back. If I lose consciousness, my power will wear off, and they'll wake up," he tells them. "They'll wake up?" Felicità asks from behind her cousins. "The reason my parents are still asleep is because I lost control of my powers. Libertà! Hurry!"

"Are you going to be okay if we leave you here by yourself?" Libertà asks him. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

Gripping his shoulders, Arianna says, "Idiot. Libertà, go with Felicità and find Uncle Moreno. I'll stay here with Nova."

"Aria..." Nova looks to her, Arianna returning his glance.

"There's four of us, right? If you're going to lose consciousness, I'd rather it be with one of us than alone with these pirates." Turning back to the other two, "Go!" Libertà and Felicità nod and take off for the cellar.


"Ojou."

Felicità looks to Libertà as he continues, "I told you before that I would live by my sword, right?"

"Why are you bringing that up now?" she asks him. "Actually, I'm just making excuses," he tells her. "Eh?"

"Nova reminded me. If he hadn't used his Arcana powers, there's no way we would have gotten out of that situation. I guess there is a difference between not wanting to use them and not being able to use them," he says.

"Libertà, did you already forget what you told me?"

"What I told you?" he asks. "Even if you can't now, you will be able to someday! Right?" she reminds him with a smile, Libertà returning the smile. "It's odd. When you say that, I actualy feel like I will."

"Really?" she asks.

"I've also said this before, right? That you have powers, Ojou. You somehow make everything work out."

After their little pep talk, they continue to make their way to the cellar. From a distance, they notice a small light from the door ahead. Looking at his companion, they nod at each other and advance. Libertà opens the cellar door, and they walk in. Their eyes land on a man, tied up and unconscious in the corner of the room.

"Ojou, is this the guy?" he asks.

"Yes, I'm sure of it."


Arianna placed Nova against the wall as she sat next to him on guard.

"Must stay conscious..." he mutters.

"Are you alright?" she asks quietly, Nova nodding in reply before gripping his katana at the sound of footsteps. Alarmed, Arianna grips onto her katana, as well, moving in front of Nova slightly. The two look to the stairs, relieved at the figures that came from the deck below.

"Father," Nova says, getting up from where he sat. "Wait, Nova-" Arianna cuts herself off to catch Nova as he falls foward. "You can't walk on your own," she tells him. "Thank you," he tells her then looks to his father, relieved.

"So, you can make a face like that, too, I see," Libertà says.

"What kind of face are you talking about?!" Nova retorts, clearly embarrassed. "N-Nova..." Arianna stutters, surprised at the sudden outburst.

"There's no way a child wouldn't care about what happens to their parent."

Afterwards, the four make their way onto the deck, Libertà carrying Moreno on his back, and the two ladies helping Nova. They stop mid-walk at the sight of...a masked man?

Putting Moreno down, Libertà stands in front of his companions. "Are you..." he trails off.

The masked man charges at Libertà, striking fast with his cutlass. "Libertà!" Felicità yells, causing Nova to look up at the scene. "Leave it to my...Power of Death!"

"You idiot!" Libertà yells at him. "Like I'd let someone as worn out as you use their Arcana powers!" "He's right, Nova! You can't possibly use your powers again!" Arianna agrees.

"But-" "Did you forget?

We came here to save your dad and make it back safely!" he yells mid-fight. After hearing this, Nova finally loses consciousness.

A knife was thrown at the masked man, which he quickly noticed and countered with his cutlass. "You've got me to deal with, too," Felicità says, leaving Arianna to care for their cousin and uncle. "I have no intention of losing with Ojou at my side," Libertà says confidently, taking out his own cutlass. They charge at him, only for him to jump behind Libertà. The masked man kicks Libertà from behind, causing him to stumble into Felicità and fall to the floor. The masked man simply nods at the sight.

"Do you really think it's wise to look so confident?" Libertà asks, the two getting up from the floor.

"Let's show him, Libertà." "Yeah!"

The masked man uses his cape as a distraction, turns around and kicks Libertà, the former then turning around and stumbling into Felicità's chest. She blushes, now angered and embarrassed, and knees Libertà in the stomach. "You idiot!" "S-Sorry!"

The masked man raises his cutlass behind them. "Watch out!" Libertà yells, pushing himself and Felicità out of the way. 'At this rate, we can't win' he thinks. "But we have the upper hand in numbers." Libertà gets up from the floor, "Ojou, I'll hold him off. Use that opening." She nods in reply as Libertà charges forward. Felicità positions herself, ready to throw her knives, but...'I can't throw these...like this.'

"Now, Ojou!" he yells, Felicità throwing her knife at the masked man.

It strikes directly at the forehead, but not deep enough to knock him down. The man removes the knife from his mask before getting kicked down by Libertà. "Take this!" The masked man crashes into the mast, cracking it in the process. "Libertà!"

"It's all thanks to you, Ojou." The mast continues to crack, now leaning forward to crash...on Felicità! "No!" the masked man yells. "Ojou!"

The girl simply stands in place, not bothering to move out of the way. (A/N: what I hate most about anime. the most obvious course of action yet never done. HEROINES...) "I can do it, too..." Libertà mutters, activating his Arcana powers.

"Pensiero Realizzare." (A/N: This means "Realized Thought" and is the ability to, well, make whatever he says become reality.)

"Shatter!" At his command, the _ shatters into pieces.

"That's right... I did this back then..." Libertà says, fainting right after. "Libertà!" Before Felicità could go to her friend, she was knocked out by the masked man. Or should I say...Dante.

"About time..." Arianna mutters, hand Nova and Morena to the "pirates" and walking up to Dante. "Boss!" the members of the famiglia run to the deck, taking off their masks. "Thanks for your hard work, men. You too, Arianna-sama."

"It's for the runt." "Putting on this little act was no big deal."

Arianna scoffs and says, "Easy for you to say. You're not the one who had to stay with them to act the entire thing out."

"This is as far as I can help you. You three need to realize exactly how weak you are and try your best to grow, just like Arianna-sama has," Dante says, looking to the other three teens. "And become stronger in time for the Arcana Duello."

"I'm glad I'm not taking part in that," she mutters.


Felicità wakes up.

"Ojou! You're not hurt, are you?" Libertà asks her. "It'd be more awkward if she wasn't hurting, sleeping in a place like this," Nova deadpans. "Why do you always have to take that tone?"

Felicità sits up, identifying where they were. "The mansion's underground cellar?" Footsteps could be heard as two figures walk into their line of sight. Jolly and Arianna stood in front of the cell.

"Jolly! Aria!" Nova walks forward, gripping the bars of the cell. "Is my father safe?" he asks.

"Where's the masked man?!" Libertà asks, also moving forward.

"Your father is fine, Nova," Arianna tells her cousin. "I haven't seen a report regarding a masked man," Jolly says. "Eh?"

"When you three, Arianna-sama and Moreno were found at the harbour, apparently there was no trace of the pirate ship," he tells the locked up children. "I'd like to say it was a job well done, but disobeying orders is still disobeying orders. Normally, you'd get a more severe punishment. However, given your achievements, I'll let you off with one night and two days in the underground cellar. You should be thanking me."

"Wha-" "Agreed," Nova says, cutting the two off.

"I must say that you three are very lucky," Jolly says. "What do you mean?"

"I just thought the whole incident seemed like a test for you to use your Arcana powers." Arianna simply stifles a small laugh. "Of course, that's just how it played out in the end."

"Huh? Wait, how come Hime isn't in here with us?" Libertà asks. Jolly looks over his shoulder before looking forward and saying, "She followed her orders, therefore she doesn't need to stay in the cellar."

Before walking away, Arianna gives them a look of apology and guilt.

"Now that I think about it, I did use my Arcana powers..." Libertà trails off. "You used your powers?" Nova asks.

"He did." The two turn towards Felicità. "And it's because of both of your Arcana powers that we were able to save uncle and return safely."

"Wait a minute! Why does Jolly know what happened on the ship?" Nova asks.

Of course, they're going to have to find out on their own.


What is your Tarocco?


I finally wrote something! I'm probably just going to focus on this, Gitsune Clan and Know Your Allies for now. SO, the others will be [On Hold] until I finish the anime series parts before moving on with the manga parts. Until the anime series parts are finished, I'll continue with the other ones.

R&R? Tell me what you think? Contribute your ideas! I'll take 'em all ~ Well?

Enjoy your stay at Regalo Island.


ffxshilayt aka Shila -