Standard disclaimer: I don't own any of the Hellsing universe except my own
characters...not through lack of trying though.
To cryearthstearsfalltou: thanks...I think, but it's nice to know that some people struggle through my drivel...
Anyway, just to say, I don't know how many people read my junk, but reviews are always welcome. This fic is nearly finished (1 maybe 2 more chapters at most) cause I also got some ideas for a Love Hina fic going through my head, and it won't leave me alone...depends on the reviews I guess, cause that shows that you guys read my junk! Anywho, on with the show
Chapter 6: The Cosa Nostra
When Tess awoke she was immediately aware of an engine and the wind ruffling her hair. She felt an arm wrapped around her waist, hugging her close, and the sun shining on her face. She had trouble remembering how she had gotten into such a pleasant state of being. She leaned further back into the embrace and tilted her head upwards before opening her eyes. She stared up at the brilliant blue sky, small fluffy white clouds drifted across the heavens. Her Sifu, Jerikor, looked down at her, concern obvious in his brilliant purple eyes, and something else was lurking deeper behind that stare? Wariness perhaps? Tess had no idea.
"Ah, good you're awake at last," Jerikor said, relieved.
"How long was I out?" Tess asked, snuggling closer, this was the closest she had ever been to her Sifu, and she wasn't wasting a minute of it.
"About 2 days," he replied, looking slightly uncomfortable at her closeness, "I was a little concerned that you would stay like that."
"Where are we?"
"North of Rome, heading to the port of Lirvono"
"What then?"
"We sail to Corsica."
"Won't they chase us? I mean Corsica isn't very far away."
"No, Corsica has and always will be a stronghold of the Cosa Nostra. Not in a thousand years would the Iscariots try to wage war on them on their home ground," Jerikor chuckled.
"Uhm, who are the Cosa Nostra?"
"That's what the mafia call themselves."
"The MAFIA?!?" Tess exclaimed, "We're running from the Iscariots to the Mafia?" she asked incredulously.
"Don't worry, they owe me some favours," Jerikor's jaw clenched as he said this, but Tess decided not to press the matter any further.
"Okay," she murmured. Tess went back to enjoying the sun and the wind on her face, and the speed of the motorbike, of course along with the closeness of Jerikor. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep again.
A gentle shaking woke her, looking around she found herself in a bustling port town, sometime in the night.
"Hmm," she moaned, "are we there?"
"Yes, come on," Jerikor looked fully alert, aware for anyone suspicious following them, as he hustled her along.
"Is anyone following us?" Tess asked, alert as her Sifu.
"You try and spot them," Jerikor challenged her with a grin.
Looking around casually and using the reflection from a shop window, she spotted the two men. Both wore non-descript clothing and were well built, bulges in their jackets gave away the fact that they were armed. "Are they Iscariots?"
Jerikor laughed, "No, the Iscariots would of attacked as soon as they found us. No, I believe those two are from the Cosa Nostra."
"So what do we do?"
"Turn left at the next alley, and sprint, if I remember correctly 20 metres along there should be another alley to the right. We duck down there and wait."
"Okay"
Seconds pasted as Tess forced herself to remain calm and walk seemingly calmly. "Now" whispered Jerikor in her ear, and they sprinted down the alley, Tess had time to throw a look over her shoulder and saw the two men swear, reach into their jacket pockets and retrieve their pistols before setting of after them.
"They are both armed with handguns, Glocks from what I could tell," she told Jerikor.
"Well spotted, in fact a Glock 17 I believe," he congratulated her, as they quickly turned right down the second alley, and at Jerikor insistence down a third alley just to make sure they thought they had tried to run away.
Sure enough, after several seconds they heard the two men coming, swearing at each other. They rounded the corner right into the two prepared ex-Iscariots, and within seconds they were both disarmed and tied up. Tess had kicked the pistol out of his hand, and with a follow up kick, smashed him up against some rubbish bins. Jerikor had merely grabbed his assailant's hand and squeezed, bones snapped and popped and the man dropped his pistol and tried to remove himself from Jerikor's grip. As Tess tied up her opponent with strips torn from his own jacket, Jerikor was questioning his captive.
"So, why are you following us?"
"We were told to guide you to our boss, but first to make sure it was you," the man grumbled.
"Why didn't you just walk up to us then, instead of all this sneaking around?"
"Because they were the test to see if you were really who we thought you were," said a cold voice above them. Both Tess and Jerikor looked up to see the balconies above them crowded with black suited men carrying semi- automatic weapons. The man who had spoken was an elderly man, with a white beard, and slightly balding. He had the body of someone who had been muscled once upon a time, but slowly let it go to fat. The hand that held the Walther PP7 though, was unwavering and steady. "We could guess who you were by your trademark hair and size. But who is the little girl?" He indicated towards Tess.
She was about to burst out in protest before Jerikor quickly shot her a meaningful look that spoke volumes. Regretfully she bit back her reply and let her Sifu talk for her. "She is my student and as such her actions are my actions."
"But a woman?"
"That is correct. She has more talent in her little finger than all your men put together." Tess looked at her Sifu, to see if he was joking, but to her dismay, he was not.
The man stared hard at Tess for several minutes, before laughing "This is something I will have to see with my own eyes, but this is not the place for such demonstrations." Tess involuntarily shuddered at this, but the man did not see, "I have a boat waiting to take us to Corsica, if that is your wish." A certain tone showed that even if this was against their wishes, they would have no choice but to comply. Jerikor simply nodded. "Good then, to Corsica then!"
After a few hours aboard a luxury yacht, they finally reached Corsica. Normally Tess would have enjoyed the luxuries and the movement of the boat; but it was hard to relax with armed men in every corner who watched her like hawks. Jerikor was speaking with the older man, who was called Don Salvatore, but there was an air of forced joviality surrounding their conversation. Tess used the passage to take a bath and acquire new clothing. At first her choices had been limited to elaborate gowns and overly feminine clothing. With the help of a giggling and obviously empty- headed maid, she had struggled into one of the over-elaborate gowns, all the while wondering how people could put up with such clothing, as well as changing her hair style, so that it formed elaborate curls down her back and shoulder. She had presented herself somewhat nervously in front of the two men and they were both rendered momentarily speechless by her now evident and radiant beauty. 'Not bad,' Tess heard Ehlissa wryly comment in her mind.
After closing his mouth and stammering a compliment; to which Tess felt very pleased, it seemed that her Sifu did notice her beauty, he had whispered in her ear.
"You look absolutely radiant, my dear. But perhaps more practical clothing would be in order?" he had stressed the word practical. With a pout of disappointment, she headed back to her cabin and somewhat regretfully removed the beautiful dress, although she made sure to pack it in her bag, and changed to more practical clothing: knee length khaki shorts and a black halter top. She shook out the elaborate curls in her hair, and returned back to Jerikor. He approved her choice of clothing, and they stepped out onto Corsica.
They arrived in the port of Bastia where a group of men in black suits surrounded them, leading them to a large black limousine. Despite the uneasiness that Tess felt, she could not help but marvel at the landscape; gentle rolling green hills and distant, snow-capped mountains. They travelled in silence until they reached a large mansion on the outskirts of another town, and they were ushered into a plush office. Tess blinked in surprise at the sophistication and richness of the office; a large mahogany desk dominated it, behind which Don Salvatore seated himself. He began to explain his plan to test Tess.
"At the moment we are running a martial-arts tournament for members of the underworld. If your student can achieve better than 5th place she will be accepted."
"And if I don't?" Tess asked.
"Women should hold their tongues whilst men are discussing business," Salvatore said, scowling at Tess. He turned to Jerikor, "She seems unaware of social protocols, and your training does not seem thorough. If she fails, her life is mine," he looked her over with lustful eyes.
"The hell?" Tess exclaimed, "You expect me to accept that?"
"Whether or not you like it is besides the question, if your master agrees," Salvatore said coldly.
"Jeri..."
"SILENCE WOMAN!" Salvatore bellowed before trying to slap her. She easily blocked the blow and barely resisted the urge to punch the old man in the face. Salvatore looked shocked that she had resisted and quickly backed away as she clenched a fist and waved it in front of his face.
Jerikor smoothly interrupted the hostile silence, "Now, now. I am sure my student will abide by my decision. Am I right?" he pointedly said, staring at Tess. She nodded and lowered her fist. "Good in that case, I accept your terms Don Salvatore."
"What?" Tess exclaimed, "Why?"
"This will be a good test of your abilities, you should have no problem." Jerikor said calmly. Salvatore smirked, and Tess had the uneasy feeling that he was planning something but she kept her thoughts private.
"I want to train a little with my student first though. When will she be required?"
"Well you are in luck, the first two rounds have already been decided, and we are down to the last 15 competitors. She starts tomorrow, against the Japanese yakuza member, Chiroshi."
"Thank you, if you will excuse us," Jerikor bowed politely and left the office, Tess tagging along after shooting Don Salvatore an extremely sour look. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tess burst out.
"What on..." she got that far before Jerikor interrupted.
"Silence, I do not appreciate being questioned by my servants!" Jerikor bellowed. Tess recoiled as if being slapped by his harsh words, but calmed when she heard his voice in her head. "Salvatore has every inch of this mansion under video and audio surveillance, so under no circumstances must we appear to be more than master and servant. Okay?" Tess nodded. "Okay then. Let's have a couple of rounds of sparring before dinner and have an early night."
They were led to an arena somewhere in the western side of the house. Tess had given up trying to remember exactly where due to the huge size of the mansion. They were informed that this is where the tournament would take place. The arena was circular, with a diameter of about 20 metres. Jerikor nodded his approval whilst silently telling Tess that she would at least have enough room to manoeuvre.
"We should under no circumstances and for no reasons reveal our supernatural abilities," He told her silently, and she nodded. "Very well," he said normally, "Let's see how much of my lessons you have remembered," he said before springing forward to attack.
For Tess he moved much slower than she was used to, before remembering his words, and forced herself to slow down as well. She easily blocked his blow, with an open palm and tried a circular kick to the head. He ducked under her kick and retaliated with a foot sweep, over which Tess sprang before launching an aerial assault. She forced him slowly backwards under a barrage of kicks and punches, not giving him enough time to counter. He was grinning ferally.
"Good, good. You have learnt well, but let's see what happens."
He quickly rolled under a kick and grabbed some of her clothing before throwing her across the arena. Tess flipped in mid air and landed on her feet, before being forced on the defensive as Jerikor unleashed his own barrage of attacks. Tess was hard pressed to defend herself, and she desperately needed to win back the initiative, ducking to avoid a high kick and she swept her leg out, in an attempt to knock Jerikor to his feet. As she had thought he easily jumped over her attack, once he was in the air however he was unprepared for her second attack; she leaped to her feet and blasted Jerikor with a powerful round kick that sent him flying out of the ring. She stood in the ring, breathing heavily, whilst Jerikor regained his feet. He was grinning broadly.
"Excellent Tess, excellent! I haven't had a fight like that for years, brilliant!" with that, they left the arena and went to get dinner. They ate alone in their shared quarters, and soon both had eaten their fill.
They made idle conversation, until Jerikor announced that they should get to bed. "You've got a lot of work set out for you tomorrow. You need to defeat at least 2 opponents to avoid slavery."
"Yeah, thanks to you!" she said, playfully throwing a pillow at her Sifu.
He swatted the pillow out of the air and retaliated with one of his own, "We wouldn't need to be here if it wasn't for you!"
Tess did likewise, dodging the pillow and throwing another, "It was you who taught me!"
"You wanted to learn!" another pillow.
With a little scream she unleashed a flurry of pillows and followed to engage in hand to hand. Jerikor batted the pillows out of the way, and then received Tess' hand cushion right in the head, he fell over in surprise and Tess landed on top of him. They stayed like that for a while; bodies in contact, staring at each other. With slow deliberation, Tess leaned down and kissed Jerikor deeply. He broke the kiss, and muttered, "They're watching..."
"So what?" she said, kissing him again. Okay, so that's another chapter. I will soon be wrapping this story up, I have a Love Hina fic being written as we speak (3 chapters so far), but don't worry! I have a sequel planned (well actually it's based before these events, before Jerikor joins the Iscariots as a matter of fact) but that all depends on if people want it, so tell me!
To cryearthstearsfalltou: thanks...I think, but it's nice to know that some people struggle through my drivel...
Anyway, just to say, I don't know how many people read my junk, but reviews are always welcome. This fic is nearly finished (1 maybe 2 more chapters at most) cause I also got some ideas for a Love Hina fic going through my head, and it won't leave me alone...depends on the reviews I guess, cause that shows that you guys read my junk! Anywho, on with the show
Chapter 6: The Cosa Nostra
When Tess awoke she was immediately aware of an engine and the wind ruffling her hair. She felt an arm wrapped around her waist, hugging her close, and the sun shining on her face. She had trouble remembering how she had gotten into such a pleasant state of being. She leaned further back into the embrace and tilted her head upwards before opening her eyes. She stared up at the brilliant blue sky, small fluffy white clouds drifted across the heavens. Her Sifu, Jerikor, looked down at her, concern obvious in his brilliant purple eyes, and something else was lurking deeper behind that stare? Wariness perhaps? Tess had no idea.
"Ah, good you're awake at last," Jerikor said, relieved.
"How long was I out?" Tess asked, snuggling closer, this was the closest she had ever been to her Sifu, and she wasn't wasting a minute of it.
"About 2 days," he replied, looking slightly uncomfortable at her closeness, "I was a little concerned that you would stay like that."
"Where are we?"
"North of Rome, heading to the port of Lirvono"
"What then?"
"We sail to Corsica."
"Won't they chase us? I mean Corsica isn't very far away."
"No, Corsica has and always will be a stronghold of the Cosa Nostra. Not in a thousand years would the Iscariots try to wage war on them on their home ground," Jerikor chuckled.
"Uhm, who are the Cosa Nostra?"
"That's what the mafia call themselves."
"The MAFIA?!?" Tess exclaimed, "We're running from the Iscariots to the Mafia?" she asked incredulously.
"Don't worry, they owe me some favours," Jerikor's jaw clenched as he said this, but Tess decided not to press the matter any further.
"Okay," she murmured. Tess went back to enjoying the sun and the wind on her face, and the speed of the motorbike, of course along with the closeness of Jerikor. Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep again.
A gentle shaking woke her, looking around she found herself in a bustling port town, sometime in the night.
"Hmm," she moaned, "are we there?"
"Yes, come on," Jerikor looked fully alert, aware for anyone suspicious following them, as he hustled her along.
"Is anyone following us?" Tess asked, alert as her Sifu.
"You try and spot them," Jerikor challenged her with a grin.
Looking around casually and using the reflection from a shop window, she spotted the two men. Both wore non-descript clothing and were well built, bulges in their jackets gave away the fact that they were armed. "Are they Iscariots?"
Jerikor laughed, "No, the Iscariots would of attacked as soon as they found us. No, I believe those two are from the Cosa Nostra."
"So what do we do?"
"Turn left at the next alley, and sprint, if I remember correctly 20 metres along there should be another alley to the right. We duck down there and wait."
"Okay"
Seconds pasted as Tess forced herself to remain calm and walk seemingly calmly. "Now" whispered Jerikor in her ear, and they sprinted down the alley, Tess had time to throw a look over her shoulder and saw the two men swear, reach into their jacket pockets and retrieve their pistols before setting of after them.
"They are both armed with handguns, Glocks from what I could tell," she told Jerikor.
"Well spotted, in fact a Glock 17 I believe," he congratulated her, as they quickly turned right down the second alley, and at Jerikor insistence down a third alley just to make sure they thought they had tried to run away.
Sure enough, after several seconds they heard the two men coming, swearing at each other. They rounded the corner right into the two prepared ex-Iscariots, and within seconds they were both disarmed and tied up. Tess had kicked the pistol out of his hand, and with a follow up kick, smashed him up against some rubbish bins. Jerikor had merely grabbed his assailant's hand and squeezed, bones snapped and popped and the man dropped his pistol and tried to remove himself from Jerikor's grip. As Tess tied up her opponent with strips torn from his own jacket, Jerikor was questioning his captive.
"So, why are you following us?"
"We were told to guide you to our boss, but first to make sure it was you," the man grumbled.
"Why didn't you just walk up to us then, instead of all this sneaking around?"
"Because they were the test to see if you were really who we thought you were," said a cold voice above them. Both Tess and Jerikor looked up to see the balconies above them crowded with black suited men carrying semi- automatic weapons. The man who had spoken was an elderly man, with a white beard, and slightly balding. He had the body of someone who had been muscled once upon a time, but slowly let it go to fat. The hand that held the Walther PP7 though, was unwavering and steady. "We could guess who you were by your trademark hair and size. But who is the little girl?" He indicated towards Tess.
She was about to burst out in protest before Jerikor quickly shot her a meaningful look that spoke volumes. Regretfully she bit back her reply and let her Sifu talk for her. "She is my student and as such her actions are my actions."
"But a woman?"
"That is correct. She has more talent in her little finger than all your men put together." Tess looked at her Sifu, to see if he was joking, but to her dismay, he was not.
The man stared hard at Tess for several minutes, before laughing "This is something I will have to see with my own eyes, but this is not the place for such demonstrations." Tess involuntarily shuddered at this, but the man did not see, "I have a boat waiting to take us to Corsica, if that is your wish." A certain tone showed that even if this was against their wishes, they would have no choice but to comply. Jerikor simply nodded. "Good then, to Corsica then!"
After a few hours aboard a luxury yacht, they finally reached Corsica. Normally Tess would have enjoyed the luxuries and the movement of the boat; but it was hard to relax with armed men in every corner who watched her like hawks. Jerikor was speaking with the older man, who was called Don Salvatore, but there was an air of forced joviality surrounding their conversation. Tess used the passage to take a bath and acquire new clothing. At first her choices had been limited to elaborate gowns and overly feminine clothing. With the help of a giggling and obviously empty- headed maid, she had struggled into one of the over-elaborate gowns, all the while wondering how people could put up with such clothing, as well as changing her hair style, so that it formed elaborate curls down her back and shoulder. She had presented herself somewhat nervously in front of the two men and they were both rendered momentarily speechless by her now evident and radiant beauty. 'Not bad,' Tess heard Ehlissa wryly comment in her mind.
After closing his mouth and stammering a compliment; to which Tess felt very pleased, it seemed that her Sifu did notice her beauty, he had whispered in her ear.
"You look absolutely radiant, my dear. But perhaps more practical clothing would be in order?" he had stressed the word practical. With a pout of disappointment, she headed back to her cabin and somewhat regretfully removed the beautiful dress, although she made sure to pack it in her bag, and changed to more practical clothing: knee length khaki shorts and a black halter top. She shook out the elaborate curls in her hair, and returned back to Jerikor. He approved her choice of clothing, and they stepped out onto Corsica.
They arrived in the port of Bastia where a group of men in black suits surrounded them, leading them to a large black limousine. Despite the uneasiness that Tess felt, she could not help but marvel at the landscape; gentle rolling green hills and distant, snow-capped mountains. They travelled in silence until they reached a large mansion on the outskirts of another town, and they were ushered into a plush office. Tess blinked in surprise at the sophistication and richness of the office; a large mahogany desk dominated it, behind which Don Salvatore seated himself. He began to explain his plan to test Tess.
"At the moment we are running a martial-arts tournament for members of the underworld. If your student can achieve better than 5th place she will be accepted."
"And if I don't?" Tess asked.
"Women should hold their tongues whilst men are discussing business," Salvatore said, scowling at Tess. He turned to Jerikor, "She seems unaware of social protocols, and your training does not seem thorough. If she fails, her life is mine," he looked her over with lustful eyes.
"The hell?" Tess exclaimed, "You expect me to accept that?"
"Whether or not you like it is besides the question, if your master agrees," Salvatore said coldly.
"Jeri..."
"SILENCE WOMAN!" Salvatore bellowed before trying to slap her. She easily blocked the blow and barely resisted the urge to punch the old man in the face. Salvatore looked shocked that she had resisted and quickly backed away as she clenched a fist and waved it in front of his face.
Jerikor smoothly interrupted the hostile silence, "Now, now. I am sure my student will abide by my decision. Am I right?" he pointedly said, staring at Tess. She nodded and lowered her fist. "Good in that case, I accept your terms Don Salvatore."
"What?" Tess exclaimed, "Why?"
"This will be a good test of your abilities, you should have no problem." Jerikor said calmly. Salvatore smirked, and Tess had the uneasy feeling that he was planning something but she kept her thoughts private.
"I want to train a little with my student first though. When will she be required?"
"Well you are in luck, the first two rounds have already been decided, and we are down to the last 15 competitors. She starts tomorrow, against the Japanese yakuza member, Chiroshi."
"Thank you, if you will excuse us," Jerikor bowed politely and left the office, Tess tagging along after shooting Don Salvatore an extremely sour look. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tess burst out.
"What on..." she got that far before Jerikor interrupted.
"Silence, I do not appreciate being questioned by my servants!" Jerikor bellowed. Tess recoiled as if being slapped by his harsh words, but calmed when she heard his voice in her head. "Salvatore has every inch of this mansion under video and audio surveillance, so under no circumstances must we appear to be more than master and servant. Okay?" Tess nodded. "Okay then. Let's have a couple of rounds of sparring before dinner and have an early night."
They were led to an arena somewhere in the western side of the house. Tess had given up trying to remember exactly where due to the huge size of the mansion. They were informed that this is where the tournament would take place. The arena was circular, with a diameter of about 20 metres. Jerikor nodded his approval whilst silently telling Tess that she would at least have enough room to manoeuvre.
"We should under no circumstances and for no reasons reveal our supernatural abilities," He told her silently, and she nodded. "Very well," he said normally, "Let's see how much of my lessons you have remembered," he said before springing forward to attack.
For Tess he moved much slower than she was used to, before remembering his words, and forced herself to slow down as well. She easily blocked his blow, with an open palm and tried a circular kick to the head. He ducked under her kick and retaliated with a foot sweep, over which Tess sprang before launching an aerial assault. She forced him slowly backwards under a barrage of kicks and punches, not giving him enough time to counter. He was grinning ferally.
"Good, good. You have learnt well, but let's see what happens."
He quickly rolled under a kick and grabbed some of her clothing before throwing her across the arena. Tess flipped in mid air and landed on her feet, before being forced on the defensive as Jerikor unleashed his own barrage of attacks. Tess was hard pressed to defend herself, and she desperately needed to win back the initiative, ducking to avoid a high kick and she swept her leg out, in an attempt to knock Jerikor to his feet. As she had thought he easily jumped over her attack, once he was in the air however he was unprepared for her second attack; she leaped to her feet and blasted Jerikor with a powerful round kick that sent him flying out of the ring. She stood in the ring, breathing heavily, whilst Jerikor regained his feet. He was grinning broadly.
"Excellent Tess, excellent! I haven't had a fight like that for years, brilliant!" with that, they left the arena and went to get dinner. They ate alone in their shared quarters, and soon both had eaten their fill.
They made idle conversation, until Jerikor announced that they should get to bed. "You've got a lot of work set out for you tomorrow. You need to defeat at least 2 opponents to avoid slavery."
"Yeah, thanks to you!" she said, playfully throwing a pillow at her Sifu.
He swatted the pillow out of the air and retaliated with one of his own, "We wouldn't need to be here if it wasn't for you!"
Tess did likewise, dodging the pillow and throwing another, "It was you who taught me!"
"You wanted to learn!" another pillow.
With a little scream she unleashed a flurry of pillows and followed to engage in hand to hand. Jerikor batted the pillows out of the way, and then received Tess' hand cushion right in the head, he fell over in surprise and Tess landed on top of him. They stayed like that for a while; bodies in contact, staring at each other. With slow deliberation, Tess leaned down and kissed Jerikor deeply. He broke the kiss, and muttered, "They're watching..."
"So what?" she said, kissing him again. Okay, so that's another chapter. I will soon be wrapping this story up, I have a Love Hina fic being written as we speak (3 chapters so far), but don't worry! I have a sequel planned (well actually it's based before these events, before Jerikor joins the Iscariots as a matter of fact) but that all depends on if people want it, so tell me!