Godfather Death: Part II
"It wasn't long till the young man became a famous physician. People came to him from all over and they gave him so much money that soon enough he became filthy rich. Then one day, the King got sick. The Physician was summoned and was asked if a recovery was possible. However, when he approached the bed, Death was standing at the sick man's feet, so no herb on earth would be able to help him. Then the Physician got a brilliant idea—he wondered if he could fool Death. He was willing to risk it thinking Death would let it go since he's his godson. So he took hold of the sick man and laid him the other way around, so Death was now standing at his head. Then he gave the king some of the herb and he was okay again. However, Death went to the Physician and made it clear that he was very angry. 'You have betrayed me,' he said. 'I will overlook it this time because you are my godson, but if you dare to do it again, it will cost you your neck, for I will take you yourself away with me.'"
Angelo hung on to his every word, wide-eyed and attentive. "That was pretty stupid of the physician, right? Making his godfather mad like that."
Yamamoto nodded in agreement. "True. But you'd be surprised what some men would be willing to do to get what they want."
So far, so good. He'd gotten Xanxus out of the Varia mansion and now Reborn was leading him to Giannichi's workshop which was located underneath an old, dilapidated warehouse. As they walked past piles of scrap metal and rubble, an underground hatch opened up ahead, gaping like a mouth in the middle of the cluttered floor. "This way," said Reborn, hopping down the stairs that appeared beneath their feet.
Last time he looked back, the scowl on his face had never changed, not that he expected it will anyway. Heavy footsteps then followed him down the abyss that eventually opened into a long hallway dimly lit by the flickering lights of fluorescent bulbs overhead. Since Xanxus wouldn't speak and Reborn wasn't feeling particularly talkative, their walk had been a long and silent one until they finally got to the double doors at the end of the hallway. The Arcobaleno nudged one of the doors aside. "It might be helpful to listen to what he has to say first before passing judgment," he said, stepping aside so that Xanxus could enter.
But the Varia Boss merely glared at him as he walked by. "I'll decide when to pass fucking judgment, trash," he growled. "Just make sure this is going to be worth my time."
Reborn couldn't help but smirk, something he'd better do well to hide from his companion. For someone who seemed so disgruntled about being dragged all the way from his home, he sure wanted to have a guarantee that it wasn't for naught. Then again, it did concern her. Perhaps he really did give a damn about her? However, the Arcobaleno didn't analyze the matter any further. As soon as the door was shut behind them, he made his way to Giannichi who was busy tinkering with something on his worktable. "Ciaossu."
The weapons tuner regarded his little friend with a smile. "Reborn, how nice to see you again." To Xanxus, he nodded his head in acknowledgement and said, "Sir, I don't believe we've been properly acquainted, it's—"
Out of nowhere, Xanxus whipped out one of his guns and in a second, had it trained at Giannichi's head—locked and loaded. "Get to the fucking point already, or I waste you."
"—a pleasure to meet you." Giannichi coughed, looking to Reborn for some support.
The Arcobaleno simply made himself comfortable on the worktable instead. "Better do as he says, Giannichi. He's absolutely serious."
"Right." More coughing on the weapons tuner's part. Not that Reborn could blame him, of course. Xanxus wasn't exactly the kind to put others at ease in his presence.
And so Giannichi began his presentation, gesturing towards the large cylindrical chamber in the middle of the room. The contraption was made of steel save for the glass top that somehow lent it the appearance of a rounded coffin, except that it was filled with a bluish gel-like liquid. At its base, on the pedestal that held it about two feet off the ground, was a control panel with all sorts of buttons and levers. Giannichi, obviously proud of his new machine, couldn't help but admire it as he began to explain how it worked. "My new invention, sir. It works the same way as the ten-year-bazooka…but with more constraints. It's still in its prototype stage, you see."
Xanxus eyed the machine disdainfully. "So it's basically a piece of shit," he concluded, pointing his weapon once again. "Die, trash."
"Wait." Reborn then hopped on top of the chamber, his leather shoe-clad feet landing with a soft click on the glass surface. "It holds promise, Xanxus. What Giannichi here is referring to is just a minor hiccup. Explain?"
The Vongola weapons tuner nodded his head so vigorously that it practically rattled the man's brain. "Why, yes, of course. Very promising, really. You see, the Time Chamber—oh, that's what I've decided to call it, by the way—not only allows one to go to the future, but also allows travel through time and space, whether it's past, present or future anywhere in the world. The only problem is that there's no way to predict how long you'll be in a certain time and location. But for that little dilemma, I have this." Giannichi then went over to his worktable and picked up what he had been working on earlier—a thick, plain cuff made of platinum. Carefully, as if he was holding a rare jewel, he presented it to Xanxus. "This will tell you how long you've got till you jump to another time period. Blue," he said, indicating a small rectangular slot on one side of the cuff, "means you can still stay. But then the light will change colors. From blue, it'll turn green, then yellow, orange and finally, red. Now, once it turns red, you need to knock yourself out somehow—alcohol would usually do the trick, but with your tolerance, I just made some pills that'll work faster, if you want them, that is—or the jump will be most uncomfortable."
Reborn sighed, hopping down from his place on top of the chamber and onto Giannichi's shoulder. Of course he'd forget to explain the most crucial part of the process; he was getting a bit old, after all. "I believe you forgot something," he said, producing a small glass vial from his jacket.
"Oh, that's right! Pardon me," he said, laughing sheepishly. However, that silly smile was quickly wiped off his face after taking one look at Xanxus. "Ahem. Sorry, sir. Anyway, this is how we'll be transporting you. That bracelet contains a tracker, by the way, and this is what you'll be following. Well, drawn to would be more like it." He gave the little vial a shake, and from the looks of it, it seemed as if Xanxus recognized what it contained—blood. "You see, people give off a unique life signature and it's contained within their blood. This sample was taken at least two years ago, the last time Mira got her blood work done. It's a good thing we managed to preserve it."
"You'd be able to observe her life. Past, present, future, or even one in a parallel dimension—watch out for those, by the way," said Reborn. "Wherever she's alive, anyway. Just keep contact with her to a minimum or not at all. She mustn't know of your existence until she's supposed to meet you. The main point to this is to find out what happened to her. Remember, we-"
Ever since he got there, he used his words sparingly. However, this time, Xanxus began to speak. "—don't have a fucking body. I know."
"So will you do it?"
"Soon afterward the king's daughter became very ill. She was his only child, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing her. Then he proclaimed that whoever heals her would become her husband and inherit the crown. When the Physician came to the sick girl's bed, he saw Death at her feet. He should have remembered his godfather's warning, but he was so infatuated by the princess's beauty and the prospect of becoming her husband that, once again, he disobeyed Death. He did not see that Death was looking at him angrily, threatening him with his withered fist. He lifted up the sick girl and placed her head where her feet had been. Then he gave her some of the herb, and her cheeks immediately turned red, and life stirred in her once again."
"Lucky girl," whispered Angelo. "But still…didn't Death already warn him? I bet he's really mad now."
Yamamoto, on the other hand, had a different outlook on the story. "True. But the opportunity was there, you know? And you just don't waste chances like that."
After the large influx of information, Xanxus had to admit that he was getting rather tired of listening. And so he summarized just about everything Reborn and that crusty old man told him—time travel, blue is good, red means take a fucking emergency nap, and don't talk to Mira unless he can help it.
Simple as that. Why they had to waste their breath with tedious explanations was beyond him. Fucking scumbags must really like the sound of their own voices, he thought, instantly reminded of a certain white-haired, loud-mouthed swordsman.
That reminded him. He'd yet to complete his daily quota of throwing random shit at the stupid shark's head. But first things first…
"Old man," he growled, glaring at Giannichi. "Give me those fucking pills now before I change my mind."
He watched as the old weapons tuner ran off to retrieve what he had asked for. Then he cast one last disdainful glance at the chamber, with its glass top, metal body, and blue gel-like liquid sloshing around as the Arcobaleno turned on the machine.
They'd be putting him to sleep in that damned thing very soon…
Angelo came home just in time for dinner and, as usual, he ate with all the Varia members.
Except one, anyway.
As the child cut into his filet mignon, he couldn't help but steal glances at the empty chair at the head of the table. Everyone else was so silent—even his Uncle Lussuria—that he simply couldn't hold it in anymore and asked. "Uncle Squalo?"
The white-haired man paused for a moment, putting down his fork and knife. "What?"
"Where's Dad?"
"Busy." And then Squalo resumed eating, but now he was cutting into his meat much more viciously that before. Still, Angelo didn't stop staring at him. Feeling the boy's blue-eyed gaze still lingering, he yelled, "VOIII, eat your food and go to bed! The fuck are you looking at anyway?"
Angelo simply shook his head and kept on eating. Throughout that night, he never stopped wondering where his father was. Was it a mission? If it was, then he didn't hear about it, which was strange considering how much time he spent eavesdropping outside his father's room and study. Besides, if it was a mission, he would've taken everyone else with him. Could it be that Dad has a mission of his own? Even that was strange. He knew his Dad would rather sit in his armchair than be bothered by trivial matters. If he was to give that up then…it must really be important.
That night, Angelo lay awake on his bed, his mind clouded by thoughts of his mother, his father, the silence of the uncles, and the ending of the story Takeshi told him while they were at his mom's grave earlier that day.
Death really didn't like being cheated.
In another room in the Varia mansion, someone else suffered the lack of sleep. And so he stayed up for as long as he could, polishing his sword till he can practically see his soul on it.
For the life of him, Squalo couldn't even begin to come up with a reason as to why Xanxus would go along with Reborn. He'd only been told of the Arcobaleno's arrival at the mansion and nothing more. He didn't pry, of course, thinking that the Boss would just throw his little ass back out on the street. But no...now the Boss was AWOL, and no one really knew why.
It was exceedingly strange. That bastard better come back, he thought, slashing once at a nonexistent enemy in his dark room. Angelo already lost one parent. He doesn't need to lose the other one, too.
/AN:
Reviews, por favor? :3
