Chapter Text
“Ah, gentlemen, perfect landing. Thank you for bringing us.”
“It was our pleasure, Master Shuu.”
A smile curved his thin lips as Tsukiyama nodded in acknowledgement to the pilots, walking down the airstair to join his companions and walk into the airport.
“And now what?” Banjou asked, rubbing the back of his neck, glancing around in slight discomfort.
The airport was big and rather empty, it wasn't exactly the time of the year people went on trips. Besides the pilots and the people that worked there, they were almost the only ones inside.
“We should probably get a cab?” Kaneki offered, giving Tsukiyama a questioning look. “Maybe there are cabs outside the airport.”
“Ah, no, no, don't worry. My chauffeur is already waiting for us outside.” The Gourmet said quickly, smiling charmingly as he gestured to the others to follow him.
“What do you mean by ‘chauffeur’? Like a private driver? You have a private driver too? Isn't it enough to have a private plane?” Banjou grumbled, slight annoyance lacing his words, trying to wrap his mind around how much money that guy actually had.
“It’s rather convenient, non? I think you would all like my yacht too.”
“I think this very nice, Flower Man!” Hinami chirped, grasping Kaneki’s hand in hers, obviously excited at her first trip. “Thank you for bring us!”
“You're very much welcome, little lady. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun in here.” Tsukiyama spoke as he waved briefly at another couple of pilots who greeted him with a short nod as they passed by them along with some air hostess, which seemed happy to see his face.
“Why is everyone smiling for you?” Banjou asked, sounding more surprised than he intended to. It’s not every day that people honestly look happy to see Tsukiyama around.
“I've came here more times than I can count. I know most of the people who work around here, especially the pilots.”
“Shouldn’t we get our stuff? Our luggage I mean.” Kaneki interrupted; suddenly remembering about the ridiculous amount of bags (most of them belonging to Tsukiyama and Hinami) they'd have to carry around.
“Our things are already in the car, Kaneki-kun!” The Gourmet exclaimed with a smile, proud to have thought everything ahead. “I told the chauffeur the approximate time of our arrival so he has already taken care of everything.”
It didn't take long for them to step out of the airport, having just to make a stop so their passports could be checked and they could be appropriately welcomed into the country.
And when the four of them got to the street, Hinami, Banjou and Kaneki were expecting to see many things, perhaps the view of the city. However, they only thing they could keep their eyes on was the large, expensive looking black SUV parked just in front of the airport, a man that seemed to be in his mid forties dressed in a formal suit with a cap on his head standing by it.
“You have got to be kidding me.” Banjou mumbled to himself, running a hand over his face, staring incredulously at the vehicle.
“Master Shuu, it’s so nice seeing you again.” The chauffeur smiled pleasantly, his Italian accent barely noticeable in his well trained Japanese, opening the door for the back seats as the group walked closer.
“It’s nice seeing you too. Thank you for coming.” Tsukiyama returned the man’s smile and moved aside so Hinami could get in first, offering her his hand to help her step up on the car. “Ladies first.”
After she sat down, Kaneki stepped in, followed by Banjou, who were all obviously surprised with the inside of the vehicle. The four leather back seats were facing each other, a mini bar in between two of them, the small TV hanging over the back and the armrests weren't nearly enough to occupy all the space inside, leaving the group comfortable to sit however they wanted.
“Just how much money this guy has…” Banjou mumbled to Kaneki, who had picked the seat right beside him, just in front of Hinami.
“Stupendo! We are going now to the hotel I chose, I hope you don't mind. It’s the one I always stay in when I come here.” Tsukiyama explained after he sat beside Hinami, the driver closing the door silently after him.
In a moment, the car took off and they were moving, the city rolling by their windows as they all stared outside, the Gourmet feeling satisfied as three companions seemed awed by the view.
“Gentlemen, little lady.” Tsukiyama glanced out his own window, smiling to himself when the others looked at him. “Welcome to Milan.”
-
“Hm, isn't this a bit too much, Tsukiyama-san?” Kaneki asked, cracking his index finger in slight discomfort as he stared at the hotel in front of him.
The building wasn't very tall, but it was large, it almost occupied the whole block, and to Kaneki it looked like it was really… exclusive. It honestly made the half ghoul wonder how he agreed to this whole thing, and the memory of when the subject was first brought up came to his mind.
He had been trying out new moves by himself all afternoon and, since he had been over exercising himself the whole week, it was no surprise he had ended up bruising himself before he was done.
“You need a break, Kaneki.” Banjou said with furrowed brows, a worried look on his face as he watched the white haired male plop down on the couch to wait his twisted ankle to heal.
“I’m fine Banjou-san, I just miscalculated my step.” Kaneki brought a hand up to remove his bangs from his sweaty forehead, closing his eyes to make the most of his short break and try to stop the damn headache that had been bothering him since he woke up. “Tsukiyama-san, I hope we can train later?”
“Oui…” The Gourmet mumbled, watching the other from the opposite couch, his lips set in a thin line of distaste. “Kaneki-kun, I have to agree with monsieur Banjoi. Maybe you do need a break.”
“You two are out of your minds.”
At first, Kaneki had been completely opposed to the idea of taking a break. But the other two ghouls had outsmarted him and asked Hinami for help to convince him. And what should have been a quick break of one day, maybe visiting a bookstore or going out for some coffee, turned into a full week vacation to Italy, offered by Tsukiyama, of course.
The half ghoul had thought that maybe the man’s idea would make Banjou leave that ridiculous idea that he needed a break aside, but the prospect of visiting another country made Hinami all the more excited and so, the Gourmet got them all passports and the needed documents for their trip before Kaneki had even fully agreed to leaving Japan with him.
“Not at all! Come, we have to check in!” Tsukiyama exclaimed with a smile, removing the younger male from his thoughts, and walked off in front of them, leading the trio in the hotel and he immediately moved towards the receptionist. “Buona note!”
Banjou, Hinami and Kaneki stood behind him, looking around the luxurious interior of the lobby while they listened to the ghoul talk in Italian with the young woman.
The floor was all made in dark marble, contrasting with the light colored sofas and rugs that were all around, large windows giving a beautiful view of the streets. The light shades on top of the nice coffee tables completed the decoration, along with some other guests of the hotel that were over there as well, and just giving the three of them a feeling that everything was very expensive.
“Eh, Tsukiyama-san, are you going to take too long?” The white haired male asked as he approached the man, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the stares they were getting, standing beside him, and noticing the look of deep thought on the ghoul’s face. “What is it?”
“They only have one of the suite I usually get.” Tsukiyama said, almost whining, staring at the documents on the counter. “And they also only have two of their signature suites.”
“Why don't you take the one you always get and Banjou-san, Hinami and I can take others?”
“Non! We have to stay on the same kind of room!” The Gourmet exclaimed immediately with a shake of his head. “We could take the ambassador or the executive suites, but they are all divided on different floors. I think we'll have to get the classic suites.”
A low sigh of disappointment escaped the ghoul’s lips and made Kaneki raise his thin eyebrows in confusion. “Is there something wrong with them?”
“I fear they are too small.”
Kaneki watched as the other turned to the receptionist again and asked her, he presumed, about the rooms. “So?”
“As I thought.” Tsukiyama bit his bottom lip as he played with the hem of his shirt, tapping the pen in his hand on the marble counter. “They are small.”
“How much? They can't be that small, Tsukiyama-san, look at the size of this place.”
“Just 70 square meters.”
“… How is that too small? It’s more than enough.” Kaneki held back the urge to massage his temples, trying not to get annoyed with the man.
“It’s not that it’s too small, I just like getting bigger suites. My room back in my parents’ estate was 70 square meters.”
“Just get that one, Tsukiyama-san.”
With a slow nod, the Gourmet requested four suites, one for each one of them, all of them on the same floor and close to each other. “Alright, Kaneki-kun, you need to sign here. I've told them that you are the one in charge of the little princess. I hope you don't mind.”
“No, of course not.” Kaneki placed the pen back on the counter and returned the pen to the receptionist. “Don’t we need to show our documents or something?”
“Don’t worry; I already took care of everything.” Tsukiyama said, smiling to the other as he took his wallet from his pocket. “I just have to pay and then we can go up.”
“Alright.”
As he was given the credit card machine, the ghoul immediately shook his head, a soft laugh escaping his throat. “Non ce n’è bisogno, madam, io preferisco pagare in contanti.”
Kaneki was about to ask what the meant when he saw the other pull out a great quantity of money out of his wallet, his grey eyes widening at the amount of bills in the man’s hand, glancing between Tsukiyama and the receptionist that looked just as surprised as him.
“Oh my god, were you carrying that around this whole time? Don’t you know how dangerous that is? Didn't anyone ever teach that you should never carry that much money around?” He said in a hushed whisper, looking around to make sure no one noticed as the man gave the money to the still wide eyed lady behind the counter.
“What? It’s less than I usually take with me. I didn't want to use my credit cards because I only use them for larger purchases.” Tsukiyama pouted slightly, closing his wallet and putting it back to his pocket before grabbing the keys to their rooms. “You don't need to be so surprised.”
“While we are in here, you won’t carry that much money around.”
“But what I used was just the change from the-”
“I really don't want to know. Let’s just go up, Hinami and Banjou-san are tired.”
Nodding, Tsukiyama led the way to the elevators and they went up to the fourth floor in silence, two baggage men waiting for them in front of their rooms with their entire luggage.
“What room do you want, Kaneki-kun?” The Gourmet asked, separating the keys in his hands and glancing around the rooms they got. “I got these two,” He pointed to the two on the left. “And these two.” He then gestured to the two doors facing the first ones.
“Any is fine, they're all the same.” The white haired man reached out for the keys, grabbing one for him and glancing to the right side of the corridor to the room he got.
“I want the one next to him then.”Banjou mumbled, reaching for a key for him and moving to the baggage men to get his bags.
“I suppose you want the one in front of Kaneki-kun, principessa?” Tsukiyama asked, already handing her the key for her suite.
“Thank you, flower man.” Hinami took her key room while Kaneki told her that if she needed anything she could call him.
After they finally got to figure out which bag belonged to each one of them, they all moved to their rooms, all of them looking a bit exhausted by the long trip. Although Tsukiyama looked a bit more composed than the rest of them, which was starting to bother Kaneki a bit.
“Alright! Now that everything is settled, we should have some rest now!” The Gourmet smiled brightly, getting the others’ attention and making them stop halfway while opening the doors to their rooms. “I have some things planned for us to do tomorrow, there’s a lot to see! We'll have a long day!”
Kaneki couldn't help but disagree. He was sure their entire trip would be long.