Chapter Text
Looking down at the campus map in front of you, you sighed in frustration. You were aware that Darkwick academy was big, but you didn't expect it to be so large to warrant a separate map for each dormitory. Right after taking the entrance exam, you'd been given a uniform with bright red accents and told you were in Sinostra, which was apparently located on a luxury cruise ship. Whatever, you didn't care. You just needed somewhere to be where the Russo family wouldn't be able to find you. Even after you'd moved to Japan to live with a family contact in an attempt to evade their continued pursuit, they'd kept tracking you down, month after month. It had been exhausting, moving up and down the country to keep escaping them. After a few years of living life on the run, you'd finally reached the age to apply for Darkwick academy, the one institution in the country where security was tight enough to keep your pursuers out, and, miraculously, you got in. If anything, you were grateful to that you no longer needed to continuously check over your shoulders for armed men running in your direction.
"Excuse me ? Are you looking for the Sinostra dorm ?" A lilac haired guy with a Sinostra uniform and a professional smile on his face asked you, breaking your train of thought. You looked him up and down. If you recalled correctly, he was the newest ghoul student in Sinostra, Ritsu Shinjo. As you were inspecting him, your eyes fell on a white device in his pocket, causing your instincts to immediately kick into fight or flight mode.
"Are you recording this conversation ? Who the hell are you ?" You didn't want to cause a scene on your first day, but equally, you weren't afraid to escalate the situation if need be.
"Don't be alarmed, Miss L/N. I do this for all my conversations. I'm Ritsu Shinjo, son of the greatest attorney in all of Japan. After graduating from here, I will follow in his footsteps,"
You felt your fists clench and your shoulders grow tense. You didn't like this one bit.
"How do you know my name ? I recommend you talk, and fast,"
Ritsu looked completely unfazed.
"I make it my business as an attorney to do an in depth background check on all the individuals I will need to work with. Y/N L/N, born in Naples to the L/N crime family. You lived in there until 2 and a half years ago, when your family collapsed due to an unexpected attack from another family, resulting in a complete takeover of both your business and your territory. You moved to Japan to escape the pursuit of your rivals, who are still trying to eradicate any remaining member-"
On impulse, you wrapped your hand around the gun tucked snugly in the waistband of your skirt. Your family had been relatively high profile, so that information was technically publicly available if one was willing to do some digging. However, you'd never imagined that someone in Japan would even think to investigate your family history.
"And just what do you plan on doing with all your knowledge ?"
You kept your voice calm, though there was an edge to it now, warning Ritsu not to cross you. However, he seemed completely undeterred.
"For now ? Nothing. I was thinking more that we could have a relationship of mutual benefit. You see, I was pretty irritated that I got put into this house, but I might as well make the most of it now, and I think you could help me,"
As Ritsu looked at you expectantly, you tried not to roll your eyes. You didn't have time or patience for schoolboy games or house competitions.
"What's in it for me ?"
"I trust someone from your background knows how useful it is to have an attorney as a friend ? I'm sure that I don't need to remind you that you are still technically on the run,"
Hand still hovering on your gun, you contemplated his offer. It was true that having a high profile attorney or two in your pocket could always be advantageous, but you still had no clue about whether you could actually trust the guy. Relaxing your body, you allowed your hand to fall back to your side.
"I'll consider it. For now, please just show me where the Sinostra dormitory is,"
Ritsu smiled pleasantly and turned on his heels, beckoning for you to follow. He didn't pester you any further, perhaps because he'd realised that you wouldn't be giving him anything rlse until he'd proved you could trust him. After around ten minutes of walking around twisting pathways and alleys, you reached an enormous cruise ship, its lights casting a bright glow on everything around it. Ritsu turned to face you.
"I'll be going to meet our captain now, and I'd recommend you do the same,"
As your eyes lingered on the ship, you let yourself consider the idea. You still had no idea if you could trust this guy, but meeting the captain sounded innocent enough. It wasn't like you had anything better to do.
Taking your silence as a yes, Ritsu led you through the entrance and into what appeared to be a large casino. You winced, the sight of poker tables and slot machines bringing back memories you'd long suppressed.
"Isn't this a university dormitory ? Why is there a massive casino here ?" You raised your voice so Ritsu could hear you over the excited chatter of the patrons.
"Apparently, most houses have a unique source of income, and this is Sinostra's. I'm sure you'll be familiar with how it works, given your background,"
You felt your eye twitch, but you knew Ritsu wasn't wrong. Having an income that was tied to something you already knew like the back of your hand could definitely have benefits, regardless of the fact you despised everything about casinos. Ritsu cleared his throat and approached a nearby student, breaking you out of your train of thought.
"Excuse me. Can you tell me where we can find the captain ? We're both new, so we wanted to meet him. His name is Taiga Hoshibami, right ?"
The student looked down at Ritsu, his face twisted on a scowl.
"He's not here,"
"Oh ? What about the vice captain, then ? Romeo Lucci, was it ?"
You felt your eyes widen a little at the name. Romeo Lucci... you'd heard the name before somewhere. Your father had had a business partner with that surname many years ago, who had also been the owner of a world leading fashion brand before his own family collapsed. Nowadays, his logo was still around, but it only had a fraction of its former prestige.
You focused harder, trying to match the name to one of the many faces you'd seen in your childhood. After a moment of frustration, violet eyes and dark hair suddenly flashed in your mind.
Romeo Lucci was his son. You'd only seen him a few times when you were both really young, but you were certain of it now.
"Y/N ? We can go meet the vice captain now," Ritsu's voice brought you back to reality, interrupting your thoughts. The satisfied smile on his face looked almost comical next to the other guy's scowl.
"Follow me. Fico should be able to meet you now,"
As you followed the two guys down a winding corridor, you wondered whether you'd misheard. Surely Romeo didn't make his subordinates call him "fico". After a couple of minutes, you reached an imposing door with a couple of Sinostra students positioned on either side of it. After giving a nod to the guy closest to the door, the newest addition to your party knocked and cleared his throat.
"Fico ? A couple of first years say they have business with you. Our house's new ghoul student Ritsu Shinjo and some girl called Y/N L/N -"
A deep voice cut him off before he could finish explaining. The owner had a Neapolitan accent, a bit like your own but less strong.
"L/N, did you say ?"
Your impromptu guide looked confused.
"Yes, Sir,"
"Bring her in. I want the rest of you to leave immediately,"
Seeing that Ritsu was about to object, Romeo's goons pulled guns and crowded around him. As he took a startled step back, one of them took you by the arm and shoved you through the door of the office.
Just as you were steadying your legs, you looked up to see a dull metal barrel pointed at your forehead.
"Don't take another step unless you want it to be your last,"