A BLACK HEART Chapter 17
A/N:- Also, don't worry about Percy turning into Wolverine, he can only heal minor injuries, not something major! Anyway, on with the chapter!

Percy grabbed the man in front of him by the neck, lifting the flailing body in the air, as he stared into Tsukasa's fear-filled eyes.

"This time…. not even your soul will be left."

Suddenly the yakuza head started screaming as a black substance emerged from his mouth and got slowly absorbed by the son of Poseidon.

Tsukasa's skin turned black, his cheeks hollowing out as he clawed at Percy's strong hands that were sucking his life force.

Finally, the man's body went limp, nothing more than a decayed corpse, and Percy threw his body at the wall. It disintegrated upon impact, the remains scattering.

Then he turned around to look at Jason and Reyna who both were shocked beyond measure, as he gave them a weak smile before falling face-first to the ground as the shadows dissipated.

****TIME*SKIP*****

When Percy woke up, he was lying in an intricately and ornately designed hotel room where everything looked antique. He blinked and looked around to see Reyna and Jason both standing at the doorway talking to someone.

He tried to get up and removed his covers to see that he was entirely shirtless wearing only his black trousers.

They had bathed him, bandaged him, changed his clothes, and booked a hotel room, that too in Italy.

He groaned, got up, and looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was ruffled and reaching the base of his neck.

He had to get a haircut soon. He thought as he tied his hair up while looking at his toned muscles.

He had to go for a workout too.

"You up?" Jason asked coming back from the balcony.

"Yeah, I guess," Percy groaned as he cracked his back. "How long was I out?"

"Three days," Reyna answered and Percy's mood did a full 180-degree turn.

"What? So, we only have eight days left to lay waste to two more gangster communities and enjoy our time in the land of architecture, opera, and literature?"

Both Jason and Reyna nodded grimly.

"Fuck," Percy exclaimed and it was just funny seeing the shirtless, handsome, and powerful demigod just being as hysterical as a child. "I'll call the gods."

Reyna and Jason's eyes were wide but they agreed.

"Hey Thunderbutts," The son of Poseidon said to the Olympian council in an Iris message. "We need an extension of the quest deadline."

A few minutes and curse words later, mostly Percy cussing them all and showing them a good reason, he came out of the bathroom successfully bagging an extension of another seven days.

He walked forward and sat down leisurely on the couch with Reyna and Jason as the daughter of Bellona gave him a cigarette.

"How much money did you spend here?" Percy asked after a few puffs.

"About five thousand euros," Reyna said.

"For one night." Jason added.

"That's goddamn expensive man," Percy said.

"But it's all well worth the money, I guess," Percy said and changed the topic. "So there's something important I need to tell you guys about the next mission and then we'll enjoy the day."

They all leaned in as Percy started explaining.

"This woman, Assunta Maresca is a very shrewd lady. She never comes out of the shadows of her lair unless something seriously pisses her off. No one even knows that she exists anymore except for a few conspiracy theorists and her own henchmen. She has a grandson and he's getting engaged tomorrow!"

"Is it just coincidence or was this planned by some higher force?" Jason asked, being the only one to drink orange juice while the rest two sipped coke.

"Who knows?" Percy answered and carried on. "But he has an engagement tomorrow and we're going to crash the party and kill him!"

"Guards?" Reyna said after a moment.

"Of course, that place is going to be swarming with guards. It's the engagement of Italy's first female mafia boss's grandson! And if I know anything about her, it's that she fucking loves her family."

"Oh wow."

"Yes…" Percy said. "And we need to anger her."

-TIME-SKIP-

After explaining everything and managing to convince the others to take the day off and rest in the hotel lounge, Percy decided to go shopping.

He obviously couldn't go to an engagement wearing dull clothes.

After some spending of the god's infinite cash resources, he decided to roam around the city. Gods knew how nostalgic he felt.

This was the same place where he had met Cam. Just thinking about her made all the repressed memories, all those thoughts that he had locked away in a small box come flowing out. He remembered the life he had left, the people he had left, the friends he had left.

He remembered and for the first time in what seemed to be like ages, he sat on a bench and put his head down, tears flowing down his cheeks.

He was still crying when suddenly someone came up to his leg and lightly tapped it.

Percy stilled for a moment and looked up to see a small girl with brownish-white hair and blue eyes. She looked about twelve years old.

"What happened, mister?" She asked. "Why are you crying?"

The son of Poseidon quickly willed the tears to evaporate and put on a weak smile. "No good reason. What're you doing here in the middle of this market?"

"Oh, I kept coming here after my mother was killed. My sister also disappeared after that without any notice."

"Oh…" Percy said and motioned for the girl to sit down on the bench next to him. This just added a lot more to the nostalgia. He had met Hades the same way. "What about your dad?"

"He never showed up," The girl said and Percy was surprised to see her so mature as he guessed what could've happened. As if on cue, the sun glowed a little brighter and the demigod swore silently.

'Apollo, you son of a bitch.'

'Hey! I'm a son of Leto!' He heard back in his mind which led to Apollo facing even more curses.

Finally, Percy sighed and looked at the girl. "What's your name?"

"Ashley Clawthorne."

Percy did a double take as he heard that name. His eyes widened. "What?"

Before he could say anything, thousands of armed men in black suits marched in and stood right next to them, rifles in their hands. Instinctively, Percy's hand went to Ashley's shoulder, knowing these guys were up to no good.

"It's alright, mister," Cam's sister said. "I know these guys. Why are you here, Simon?"

"Miss Clawthorne, madam's waiting for you," Simon said and then his head turned to the taller demigod and spoke in English. "And who might you be, mister?"

Before Ashley could reply for him, he spoke up. "Jackson."

A string of murmurs started and Simon's eyes widened. "Jackson…. You mean… that Jackson?"

Percy nodded. "Yes, I am him. I am Percy Jackson."

Several of them gasped and stumbled but soon regained their composure, as Ashley could just stare confused as to how they knew him.

"Go," The demigod said. "I won't kill you right now. You can tell your mistress that I have arrived."

The frantic guards nodded, frightened. "Miss Clawthorne, come on… it's getting late."

"Yes, go on, Miss Clawthorne," Percy said, mockingly. "I'll save you later."

Ashley was confused but still went after them. As they walked (read:- rushed) around the corner, she looked back at the enigmatic man she had just met.

He just met her gaze with a warm smile and a wave, his green and black eyes shining brightly, something about which was quite comforting to the heart. Something about that gaze made her believe that previous statement, even though she didn't know what it was referring to.

All she was left with was hundreds of questions and no answers.

A/N:- How did you like this chapter? I hope you found it good! The next update is going to have some action at the engagement! Please leave reviews! Thank you, have a nice day!