CHAPTER NINE

Dining With the Devils

After the groups had departed the three remaining nations took turns going back and forth to check on their guest, whom had been unconscious ever since the cupcake incident.

"Man, how many of those things did ya' force feed him Oliver?" The Englishman pouted and crossed his arms.

"I'll have you know that he ate that cupcake on his own free will. And it was barely a morsel that he devoured before he collapsed." The sentence ended with a jolly smile. Kasper gave him a questioning glare.

"How much did you put in there if it meant that he passed out within seconds of taking the first bite?" Oliver shrugged.

"A couple spoonfuls perhaps." Kasper sighed. At this rate, the poor fellow might not wake up at all. They'll just have to wait and see.

A good couple of hours later, the others returned. "Have a fun trip? You've been gone all morning." The others scoffed, Luciano stepped forward to clarify.

"Only some of us had success. My group had some fun. You three missed it, Kuro got into a fight with his "one-p". Kiku is it? I got to know him a lot better during the walk home." Luciano smiled and Kuro rolled his eyes.

"Whatever." He murmured before walking off.

Their headquarters was decent sized. It was, after all, once a butcher shop. There was the front where everyone ordered their meats and whatnot. Then once you went into the back there was a big open area that, for the most part, was used as a storage unit. That's where their living and dining area was placed. Then there was the section where the animals were butchered. Obviously, an unchanged and more personal torture chamber. A fairly large office that was used to cook meals. Not the best place to do such a thing, but not one argued. There was also a basement which had mattress and sheets scattered about. For the most part, that's where they slept. And lastly, the freezer, where their captive was being held. The temperatures had been brought up to prevent him from freezing to death, but not too hot that it would be unbearable.

Kuro wandered over to the dining table and sat down, both annoyed and bored out of his mind. He shouldn't be sitting around and waiting for something to happen. He should be out there, taking action. But Luciano wouldn't allow it. So he didn't try. The others would likely stop him, and he wasn't in the mood to have a face full of pavement, or worse. So he tapped his fingers against the tabletop and waited for something interesting to occur. Which was bound to happen within mere moments.

Leonardo wandered off to prepare lunch, as no one had eaten whatsoever. He was a fairly excellent chef but, just like his brother, he decided to add a bit of a metallic flavorings to his sauces. He hummed happily to himself as he started to create his relatively popular pasta dish. Back in the living room, Luciano began to question the others.

"Is Feliciano up yet?" Kasper shook his head.

"Hasn't gotten up, barely moved a muscle. He's breathing, at the least." Luciano sighed.

"Shame. I was hoping he'd be up by now. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to wait for lunch." He smiled deviously before walking away, a slight skip in his strides. He went out the front door and disappeared before anyone could question him.

Sebastian sighed and went off to the kitchen. On numerous accounts his companion had nearly killed them in fires, and he had to make sure that wouldn't happen again. The last thing they needed at this point was for firefighters to show up and put out the fire and find out that they had a hostage situation on their hands. Lanzo scooted his way down the steps and to the basement so he could sleep. He would probably be forced to get up again for their next meal, so he might as well rest while he could.

Oliver started to follow Allan around, asking him questions of all types for no real reason. Allan was obviously annoyed as a result and continuously insulted him in an attempt for the Englishman to leave him alone. Andrew and Jean had a small conversation with each other, just trying to communicate in any way they could. It was mainly in French but they switched back and forth every so often, just to confuse anyone eavesdropping and enjoy it while doing so.

Kasper began to flip through the television channels, trying to find an interesting one with their cheap cable. Of course most were in random languages that he either hadn't bothered to learn, or hadn't spoken in such a long time that he barely remembered the most basic of words. Otherwise the shows were just of poor quality or lacked entertainment.

Jian was trying to entertain himself with folds of paper, and Viktor was staring boredly out the window. Overall, nothing exciting was going on. It took another half an hour before something important actually occurred.

"Welp, we didn't burn anything down." Sebastian blatantly stated while walking out of their "kitchen". Leonardo followed, pulling off his gloves and smiling proudly.

"Lunch is ready!" He exclaimed, though he didn't really need to. Everyone got up from where ever they were to inform anyone who wasn't there. Kasper went downstairs, going to wake up his brother, and Jean went outside to find out where Oliver and Allan might have wandered off.

"Andrew, do you mind fetching Feliciano? I think it's high time he eats." Luciano said after seeming to appear out of nowhere. Andrew nodded and opened the door to the freezer. Kuro gazed at him suspiciously.

"And where have you been?" Luciano's eyes seemed to glow for a moment before returning back to their "normal" state.

"Oh, I was just visiting an old friend." His smile grew, if that was even possible. Kuro raised an eyebrow.

"If you say so, boss." He spoke the last part rather sarcastically as Luciano walked off, ignoring both his tone and questioning. Andrew opened the steel door the lead to their makeshift cell and saw Feliciano just barely stirring.

"Ey, you up yet shortstack?" He mumbled, poking him in the side with the tip of his hockey stick. Feliciano moved around a bit more, whispering something before earning a direct kick to the thigh.

"Ow!" He yelped as he jumped from his seat, only to land on the ground again.

"Wha-?" He got cut off after seeing the ginormous size of Andrew who towered above him. "Lunch." He stated calmly before gripping Feliciano's arm tightly and lifting him to his feet. "C'mon, if I take too long I won't hear the end of it."

Using his hockey stick, he pushed it into the square of Feliciano's back and motioned for him to go further. Hesitantly, he continued further ahead. Walking through the damp and dark hallway before finally coming outside into the blinding light. Not being used to such a bright source after being in near darkness for two, maybe three days, he shielded his eyes in a futile attempt to give his eyesight a chance to adjust.

Andrew took this opportunity to force Feliciano into a seat facing a wall. Dazed a bit from the sudden rotation of his body, Feliciano finally snapped back to reality and stared at the wall questioningly. There were tens of hundreds of cuts embedded into wall, noting that someone was extremely angry at one point. Suddenly a shadow engulfed his own and Feliciano turned his head to the right as quickly as he could. Once again he was facing Luciano, whose smile never seemed to seize existence.

"Buon pomeriggio, dear little Feliciano. How was your nap?" His hand found its way to the back of the chair that he was now leaning against.

"F-fine." Feliciano blurted out, shaking in his spot. His alter ego scared him, terribly. And it was times like these where he wish he could be brave. But it was something that he couldn't manage.

"Well, it would seem that you haven't been properly introduced to everyone." He purred, twirling a knife in the opposing hand.

"And you haven't eaten in a good while, hm? I say we fix these two minor problems." Without warning, he gripped the chair and spun it around violently. Clutching onto the sides of it for his dear life, Feliciano shut his eyes for a brief moment until the movement stopped altogether.

Opening his eyes afterwards and looking up, he pulled his attention towards a group that had collected behind him unknowingly. Most of them looked more than annoyed but sat there reluctantly. The section seemed to be separated into two groups, a large gap between both. Luciano stepped over to join them.

"As you already know, my name is Luciano Veneziano Vargas, and these are my companions." He said, motioning to the first and closest group. He stepped back and waited. The first to come forward was the relatively tall Asian man with cold blood eyes. His expression was blank and emotionless, almost seemingly identical to Kiku's.

"Kuro Honda." He stated before bowing. It was surprisingly respectful and Feliciano thought little of it. That was, until Kuro stood back up straight and a sly, murderous grin was plastered on his face. It made Feliciano shudder in his spot. Next was the colossal German man that only seem to distinct from his 'original' by the fact that he had four fairly noticeable scars.

"Kasper." He said, violet eyes peeking out from under his tan cap. Feliciano noted the claw-like scar marks on the back of his arm. It created small questions as well as the scar laced with stitches on his cheek, obviously proving that whatever encounter he had was worth remembering. Then came the quiet albino who looked fairly similar to his Gilbert, aside from the fact that he had four scars, each one on his face. One across his right eye, two across his nose, and a final one across his left cheek. He refused to make eye contact with Feliciano and simply waved.

"L-lanzo Beilschmidt..." He rushed back into line quickly, letting the next introduce himself.

"Ciao~ we met already! I'm Leonardo Vargas." The opposite smiled and Feliciano couldn't understand how he could be his brother's opposite. Yes, all of them seemed to be opposites in some way, but this one was beyond opposite. The only thing that he could seem to relate was the style of his hair and position of his curl. Aside from that, without any previous knowledge he could easily be mistaken for someone else.

Or be considered a cousin. Feliciano weakly waved back as Luciano pulled his brother behind. Next was the Spain look-alike, who seemed to have no interest in anything. His hair was the same shade, just longer and pulled back with a red ribbon. His eyes were a shade of purple, generally blank and slightly bland with his bored look.

"Sebastian Fernandez Carriedo." There was an obvious space between each name, giving each one time to sink in. The first group was finished and it was now the second's turn.

First came the jolly Englishmen, who had fed him the contaminated cupcake upon their first meeting.

"Ello! Glad to see you're okay! I'm sure I already introduced myself, but I guess I can do it again. I'm Oliver Kirkland." He barely was given a chance to step back before the next started.

"Allan, Allan F. Jones and don't forget it." Despite the heavily tinted shades, he was still able to see the crimson red eyes peering deep into his soul. He was roughly pulled back by the man he had come into far too many encounters with. He didn't even bother to step forward, he was one of the tallest in the room and his broad figure was enough to draw anyone's attention.

"Andrew Williams." His voice was strong and full of power, his glasses being pulled to be placed on the top of his head so he could look Feliciano right in the eyes. It caused him to slide farther back into his seat. The introductions continued despite this. Next was a man who seemed to care a lot less about his appearance than anyone in the room. Even Feliciano, who had been manhandled and beaten, had still flattened his clothes and briefly combed his hair with his figures just so he wouldn't look like a complete train wreck.

"Jean Joc Bonnefoy." He had an intense poker face that made Feli uncomfortable. His clothes were wrinkled and his face, almost completely unshaved. His long hair was tangled every here and there, and bags were under his eyes. Next was the towering Russian who was a bit less intimidating than his counterpart, simply because he didn't wear a fake smile.

"Viktor Braginski." He appeared to be just as tall and had the same attire, just a different color scheme, but his aura was a lot less... dark. Not by too much, just enough to lower the level of horror that the normal Russia seemed to produce. He also had bags under his eyes and the bored expression on his face seemed to stick.

Lastly was the smaller man standing next to Viktor.

"Jian Wang." This China, unlike the other, seemed a lot more laid back and appeared to have half a smile on his face. A hat covered much of his forehead and his hair was cut short, unlike his other. He seemed to have the same shade of blood red eyes as Kuro, big surprise. Also, his shirt collar covered much of his neck and barely stopped at his chin. Finally, the introductions that Luciano had forced the others to participate in were now over and, to be honest, Feliciano was just as relieved. But he didn't expect what was coming next.

"Well, now that that is over, we can finally eat." His smiled that had disappeared for a couple of minor seconds returned as he walked over to Feliciano. Abruptly, the chair was lifted up and Feliciano nearly fell off of it before it was once again spun around and he was placed next to a table. There were eight chairs total, two on each side, and plates in front of each one. He looked questioningly at the scene before people started sitting down.

Viktor sat next to him, Kuro to his left. Luciano took his place across from Kuro, Jian sat next to him, seeming to refuse to sit next to his brother, who Lanzo was forced to take a seat by. Across from him, Sebastian and Leonardo took their seats and smiled happily. The others, except for Kasper, sat next to the TV, either in a wooden chair or on the couch. Kasper came in with two steaming pot, filled with pasta and the special sauce, that he placed down on the table.

One by one, the plates were covered in the delicious meal as everyone waited patiently. It wasn't long before all had received their shares and they were able to eat. Feliciano picked at the food at first, before deciding to finally eat. Overall, the food was good and filled his stomach. But the sauce was odd and he almost gagged at first taste, but stopped himself since he didn't want to anger anyone.

Leonardo spoke happily to Sebastian and Jian talked to Viktor, stating obvious insults about his brother without a care in the world. Luciano and Kuro seemed to be having a stare down and every so often one or the other would wince in pain. Confused and curious, he couldn't miss the fact that their bodies seemed to sway ever so slightly. It took him a moment to realize that they were kicking each other under the table. This caused him to raise an eyebrow but didn't think much about it, they were probably just joking around.

Then they engaged in a not so nice conversation, and he knew that they weren't just being friends.

"So. Kuro, your fight today was fairly entertaining. I didn't expect your counterpart to put up as little of a fight as he had. He's a real weakling isn't he?" Kuro sent a death glare across the table. Yes, maybe the two fought often and Kuro had sworn to have some sort of revenge, but no one insulted Kiku as he had just done. Kuro still found himself as someone that would protect Kiku against such things.

"At least Kiku can put up a fight, unlike yours." He said through gritted teeth. Luciano only smiled, obviously noting that he was getting on the Asian's nerves.

"Well, if you would prefer that I'd talk about someone else, I would also love to say that your attack was rather sloppy as well. You just did whatever you thought was best and went along with it. Real sciocco if you ask me." He grinned as he wrapped another band of pasta around his fork and brought it up to his mouth, his eyes never leaving Kuro's as he took a bite.

Feliciano wasn't the only one who was watching the fight attentively. Kasper was glaring over his shoulder from the couch, and Jian had stopped talking to see everything unfold. Lanzo appeared uncomfortable with his position next to Kuro, but everyone else was mostly unphased.

"Well, if you'd like to talk about foolishness, then how about we start with that mafia of yours. Whose stupid idea was to start something like that? A bunch of idiots grouping together and calling themselves criminals? It only made you look like the baka here." Luciano's grip tightened on his fork.

"The Mafia was fratello's idea. And it has been very di successo." He started eating again; Feliciano had just about finished his entire plate and was now just sitting there, watching intensively. He would have asked for more, but it just didn't seem like the right moment.

"Of course it was. Your brother really is an idiot hm? But, I guess I can't be too surprised that you're related. Stupidity must run in your family." Luciano dropped his fork and looked back up at Kuro.

"Shut up idiota! You have no idea what you're talking about." He slipped back into his seat, sighing in disapproval. Kuro knew he now had now gained the upper hand in this argument.

"Of course I don't. I don't bother to look up things that would waste my precious time. Stupid things like the Italian Mafia; and just about anything else that has to do with your hakujaku country." Feliciano sunk back in his seat. Luciano wasn't the only one feeling offended.

"Andare all'inferno bastardo." Luciano stated firmly. A smile formed on Jian's face, but he covered it with his hand almost immediately. Kuro stood up, slamming his hands on the table. "Gladly."

. . .

The fight started shortly after. Kuro and Luciano both rose from their seats and engaged in a heated battle. Though it seemed unfair, by the fact that Kuro had an entire sword whereas Luciano had a knife, he sure as hell knew how to use it. Dodges and counters made up most of the battle; everyone was interested in watching the two rip each other apart.

Feliciano sat against the wall, trying to avoid the bloodshed that was raining down. Unlike the fight between Kuro and his counterpart, in this fight hits were being made often. Kuro's arm wound was reopened and Luciano had a newly received bruise on his hip from being thrown back into the table.

Minor cuts and whatnot started forming on both of their bodies. Not large enough to cause a bleed out, at least within the time being despite their fast paced heart beats, but being just big enough to cause their bodies to sting in agony. Blood was smeared into the floor and rubbed into objects that the two managed to run into during their tussle. Kasper sat at the sidelines, arms crossed and back against the wall. Sebastian walked up to him, no emotion in his face.

"You know, if they keep this up they'll kill each other."

"Yup."

"Should we stop them?"

"...Five more minutes." He mumbled lazily. Sebastian rolled his eyes before walking off, not wanting to be the one to pull the two apart. It's like trying to break apart two dogs locked jaw-to-jaw; you're bound to get bit. But five minutes was also plenty of time for the two to rip each other apart. Kuro made sure to keep his distance, getting too close increased the chance of being stabbed. You never wanted to be that close. You could almost be promised to die at that point. But Luciano didn't only have one way of fighting.

Kuro went for the diagonal uppercut, trying to disable Luciano's good arm. Instinctively, Luciano jumped back to avoid the hit. But he didn't move fast enough, as the side of his hand was slit and his knife fell from his grip and out of reach.

"Damn." He murmured, ducking under another swing before sliding back until he was against the wall. A good eight feet away from his opponent, Luciano rolled down his right sleeve, revealing a knife strapped to the inside of his arm with a leather band. Quickly slipping it out, he gripped it by the tip in his left hand and raised it behind his head.

Skillfully, he flung the knife towards Kuro who had little to no time to react. Jolting to the side, his right shoulder collided into the wall and the knife managed to slice deep into his cheek. Hissing in pain, Kuro placed his free hand over his now bloody cheek as the crimson liquid seeped down his chin and dripped onto his shoulder. It took him a moment to realize that Luciano was running towards him. Once again, he was unable to react in time as a punch landed to the side of his head.

Katana dropped to the ground and forgotten, the two fought bare handed. Luciano had the upper hand at first; having landed on top he was able to pound Kuro's head into the ground. But the advantage was short lived once Kuro managed to get onto his side and lifted Luciano up and off of him as he was flipped over with large amounts of force. Landing on his back with a thud followed by a grunt, Kuro grabbed him by the neck and lifted him to his feet. Throwing him into the wall, it was now his turn to inflict pain. Two punches collided with his forehead, followed by a knee to the gut and then a small kick to the shin.

Luciano winced but refused to stop fighting. To break from Kuro's strong grip, Luciano head butted him. While he was stunned, Luciano reached into his boot and pulled out a thin knife. Gripping it with his right hand as the other held Kuro in place, he raised it back and prepared to stab it square into his chest. But before his hand could even move Kasper grabbed his wrist and forced him to drop the knife to the floor.

It clanked loudly as Luciano sent Kasper death glares. The German did his best to ignore them and ushered Kuro to the side. "Trust me, I love seeing you two rip each other limb from limb but this isn't the time or the place to be doing such a thing. If you don't remember, we're here for a reason." He crossed his arms disapprovingly and Luciano straightened himself up.

Kuro grabbed his katana and cleansed the blood off of it with a rag lying to the side, before placing it back in its sheath. Luciano checked his wounds. He probably won't feel the full extent of them until morning, same going for Kuro. It took him a moment to notice Feliciano quivering in the corner. He sighed, not in the mood to deal with the coward.

"Someone take him back to his cell. He has seen enough for today." Andrew sighed, picking Feliciano up by his arm and dragging him back to his cell. The last thing Feliciano managed to see was the blood dripping down from Luciano's wrist.

Buon Pomeriggio = Good Afternoon (Italian)

Sciocco = Foolish (Italian)

Baka = Idiot (Japanese)

Fratello = Brother (Italian)

Di Successo = Success (Italian)

Idiota = Idiot (Italian)

Hakujaku = Weak (Japanese)

Andare all'inferno Bastardo = Go to Hell Bastard (Italian)