Author's Note:

Well, I'm back again. It seems all I've been doing lately is planning out the story for this fanfic. Well, no big deal, I'm sure if you have been enjoying the chapters you're happy to hear that. I have been trying to streamline my writing style, but without reviews, I can't actually know which part should not be written and which part could be improve on. Still, I do hope you guys enjoy the story, even if you guys find it hard to read.

Chapter 10: The Black Valkyrie.

Inner Feelings.

The Black Valkyrie. That was the name I earned for myself. My skill, my name, my family name, as well as the design of my shield, generated the name soon after I entered the mafia world. Though I was still a child, my prowess has never been bested. That's not to say I'm strong. You never know what's out there in the world. 'Kiera' is the irish name for the color black, 'De Luca' means the son of Luca, one that has been shared with sculptors and saints through the passage of time. I guess 'Valkryrie' was derived from my Family name. I never cared much for what people called me, but I guess I have become pretty well-known throughout the underworld.

That don't matter now.

The bright afternoon sun was shining on with a yellow hue. Every once in a while I would hear the sound of the wind, or a sparrow chirping. My vision was fast, blurring everything around me as I moved. One would think that with the speed I'm moving, I, myself, would be out of breath or exhausted, but, I wasn't. I'm still light on my feet and feeling fine. The area is the open road, near the foyer of Venice High. The area is mostly deserted, as far as my vision tells me. We did a good job informing the people of the area as well as asking them to stay away from the area. As soon as the screeching of the limousine tires can no longer be heard, a flash of blue closed in on me and the barrel of a sniper rifle can be seen flying towards me.

"Clank! Thunk!" The metal impact created a slew of clashes and sounds. I could even feel some of the force through the metal. This guy's not bad. After the clash, we each fall to our respective sides. As I stood, lifting my giant shield like a sword, my robes flutter as the wind blew. I could see, in front of me, the Assassin. Dark, blue hair, unkempt and long, flows down his head and only stops past his shoulders. The uneven and spiky ends of his hair coming down on his back fly with the breath of the wind. His presence was overall inconspicuous and uninteresting, which is the perfect get-up for an Assassin.

As all these thing were happening, my mind was churning with worried thoughts, anger, fear and sadness was what I was feeling.

"So it's true, you have allied yourself with Zanna." The stranger gave out in a curious tone, his eyes now with a hint of surprise.

"Who sent you?" I yelled out in anger, ignoring everything else and going straight at him. I know this is reckless, but I wasn't thinking much, or rather, it was difficult. Moving my shield back while leaping in the air, the frills on my uniform blowing back as I brought it down on the guy. His reaction was predictable, he saw it coming and hopped backwards, resulting in my attack missing and landing on the ground instead. I guess it was too obvious a strike. As my shield came drove into the ground, ruptures can be seen and felt as stones and pebbles radiated apart and a pulse of dirt can be seen briefly flying a centimeter into the air around the epic-center. Quickly after that, the stone-floor broke apart and the dirt was pushed away by the force.

My eyes shifted back to the guy and saw how he immediately counter-leaped back at me just as his feet touched the ground, his rifle in the offensive position, highly reminisce of a staff-wielding martial-artist. "Crush!" The sound went off immediately as I pulled out my shield from the ground and pulled it in front of me to block the blow.

"Crink! Kashrink! Chunk!"

His rifle skidded across the surface of my shield, resulting in an amalgam of different sounds. His strikes were fast and precise, leaving almost no openings. I went on with blocking, trying to get used to his style of attack as well as watching out for any chance of a hit.

Ending the series of clashes with a tie, we once again jumped back away from each other. This of course is a natural course of action, staying close to the opponent can garner more chances to hit him, but it also gives that advantage to the opponent as well. As I stood, carefully observing his movements, different thoughts were flowing through my mind.

I remembered when I managed to catch wind of a sniper shot near the school, and my heart sank a bit. Even though I shouldn't have thought of the falling of my Boss, deep down, a part of me knew it could happen, or very well will. Getting here, we did the standard protocol and got the public to safety. That was before I saw Lord Amato on the floor, lifeless. Bloodsoaked and pale, he matches the description of a corpse you would see after someone was shot.

The first emotions I felt was not one of sadness, but one of regret. I knew how kind Lord Amato is. He could've dodged those bullets effortlessly, but standing beside him was his two friends. One of them, Mister Endoh, was even going against the Assassin. I knew Lord Amato would put their lives above his. I knew yet I did not offer more protection for him. Seeing him on the ground like this, I felt my heart gripped by despair as well as a sense of guilt.

Please, let him be alright.

"Amato.. you idiot.." I muttered out under my breath.

Maybe it was because of my thoughts, that I was quite surprise to see the guy charging towards me. Using any opportunity possible, this Assassin is definitely skilled. This time, I dodged, but only barely, with the strike grazing my cheek. Had it connected, I would've suffered massive injuries to the head, and most likely have been knocked out.

"Pant.." I gave out my breath, trying to get my head back into the fight. I have to retaliate. I reached out to punch him with my left hand, as he had closed in on me with that strike. As expected, he blocks it by shifting his rifle into the trajectory of my punch. Immediately, as my punch touched the metal, I begin pulling it back, reducing recoil damage. At the same time I throw my right knee towards him, my skirt flying, aiming for his stomach.

Surprised was he at the speed, I saw he kicked up his left leg to block my strike. Unexpected at his reaction, I was half-expecting it to hit, still it was an advantage. Seeing his moves, I added more strength to my knee-strike. I could feel his knee-bone as I struck him cleanly. His reaction was staggering back due to the impact, Taking that chance, I swung my shield sideways in an arc, aiming for his head. Finally, his expression changed as his eyes widen at the strike, bringing his arms up to block it.

Crack. A slight crack, barely audible, was given out, and from the impact, the Assassin flew a few meters back. A thing to note, he made no sound nor did his actions falter in their precision.

"Ngh.. Cough.." The Assassin let out as he holds his body up only with his two arms, his left leg injured, majority of his body still on the ground. I made my way towards him to crack his skull only to be given a very unexpected response from him.

"Calcassa."

"What?" I can't help but sound surprised at his choice of last words.

"I yield, spare me." The words are outrageous. He expects me to let him live after he shot down Amato? I was getting emotional.

"After all you've done?" I yelled out, my face red with anger. The guy was already on his feet, though he is clenching on to his arms. Just thinking about the pain Amato went through lights the fuse to even more anger explosions.

"He still has a chance to live, though I doubt it. Don't you want to spend his last moments with him?" I bit my lip as his words end, mostly because it might be true. I stood as I think it out, trying hard to hold back on any more emotional outbursts.

"Can you guarantee no more trouble from your famiglia?" I ask out. His words are a lie, I kept telling myself. Amato will pull through!

"My life is now forfeit. I will no longer be of trouble, I can't say the same about my Famiglia. And I will not give up my life for them."

I don't know why I did it, but after he declared his statement, I immediately turn for the Zanna mansion. His words may be full of meaning, or a pack of lies, but, I couldn't decide then. Emotions swept me over and carried me like a log flowing down a river. Amato... Somehow, maybe it was his actions, or his look. So I gave him a chance to live. Now the important thing is to get to Boss's side. I have to be there and help him through this.

"Hang on, Amato.." I gave out, wiping away the first teardrop as it began to fall. The last thing I saw, was the guy, his blue hair, black hat, and strangely, a look of concern.

The end of another chapter. Whoa, looks like we've hit chapter 10 already! Was the fight too quick? I ended it early to show how skilled the fighters were, as realistically, the stronger you are, the faster your fights should end. Well, at least thats how it should seem. Sorry for keeping the lid on what's happening to Amato. Don't worry, you'll know soon enough. As always, praise, comment or criticize! Don't be afraid to tell me what seems out of place or which part you don't like about. I'll try to improve the story so that it appeals to everyone!