22/12/12 - EDIT!: I have gone through the entire story and revised the chapters. Nothing major has changes besides perhaps a few words here or there. If you want to re-read it feel free to. If you want to review but already have, just PM me, I won't bite :)
16/04/2012 Re:Edit! – Someone was kind enough to inform me that I was spelling Seijuurou's name wrong so I've gone through all the chapters and changed that! Thank you very much 'Kouki' for correcting me
I'm Back!
Warnings?: Well there's blood and somewhat 'mature' content, so people under the age of 13 shouldn't read it? (Not that anyone will listen to me, cause who listened to warnings when they were 13?) Also, you may notice that I swap tenses like they are shirts, that's cause I'm bad at keeping tenses, and without a beta it is a constant for me :p
So Please enjoy despite the spelling and grammar mistakes I am prone to.
To the Untrained Eye.
What was taught and what was lost.
Sena woke that morning with a strange feeling. It wasn't particularly bad, but it certainly wasn't making him smile brightly and spit rainbows either. It was one of those feelings you get when the unknown is about to happen.
He would swear on his life later that day that he usually listened to his intuition, that he was tired, calm, or that nothing could happen to them- them being his family- in such a small, secluded town. Of course, he would also swear on his life that his brothers weren't crazy, that being the boss of a mafia at sixteen- being something about ten when he started being boss- and that having a family made up solely of boys similarly aged wasn't absolutely crazy, so maybe swearing on his life wasn't all that reliable.
As he made his way downstairs again he spotted Seijuurou stretching out his legs and shoulder, knowing the stoic boy was going for a run Sena approached him. It had been a long while since Sena had done any true exercise. Do it later Meteora, you're tired, you should relax for as long as you can. His brothers would say to him. Sena had the indignation to scowl at them like a child explaining in his 'boss voice' that; no, I'm not going to rest so I might just go out on my own, thank-you-very-much.
"Do you think I could come for a run with you?" Sena asked as he neared the hooded boy.
"Of course Sena, I was just going to loosen my muscles- I feel a little tense lately." He replied smoothly, he rolls his shoulders as if to emphasise his assessment.
Sena paused momentarily at the comment- not long enough to the stoic boy to notice of course. Seijuurou was never tense. He was wary, yes; he was always on alert, but he was never tense. It gave Sena the smart idea to reconsider the pinwheel feeling in the pit of his stomach while he pulled on one of his more discrete hoodies.
As he stretched for a moment, making sure his legs would not freeze on him during the run; Sena stood and faced his brother. A small, warm smile filtered onto his face as he called into the house, he was met with some grunts from the still sleeping occupants, but he knew full well they were aware even in their slumber.
The run was silent- as it often was. Sena never felt the need to divulge his life to the stoic, warm-hearted boy to his left. Of course, that could be due to many factors. He spent almost every waking moment with Seijuurou- he had since he was young, but that wasn't the reason. It could be the fact that Seijuurou went out of his way to know everything about Sena, all the way down to paper cuts he received while doing paperwork, and as creepy as that sometimes was, it wasn't the reason either. Sena believed it was because neither of them needed to know simplistic, idiotic things most friends needed to know to feel accepted. Most friends needed to ask 'how are you' to feel they were friends, they needed to know everything or else feel offended when- no you don't know that, I didn't tell you- to feel close. Seijuurou and Sena weren't like that, were never like that. Sena trusted Seijuurou, knew if there was something that needed to be said or divulged- good or bad- then Seijuurou would not hesitate to take him to the side, to make Sena's time his time, and tell him exactly what was on his mind. Sena might have to fight the others to tell him things, because they were far too preoccupied with protecting Sena to protect themselves, but with Seijuurou, Sena never needed to worry that there was something being unsaid, and that often left Sena feeling very refreshed and warm. Because he was trusted wholly by everyone in his family and one cannot help but feel humbled by that.
"Sena." Seijuurou mumbled from under his thick hood.
"Yes, Seijuurou, what is it?"
Sena didn't look up, he could hear the hesitation and pain in his brother's voice, and that hurt him a little.
"I really don't like the thought of only Protezione and the Huhs being in school with you... I know it's your decision in the end, but I can't help but object..."
Sighing imperceptibly Sena can't help but look up into his brother's deep, dark eyes as they jogged in the morning mist. He knew, just knew that out of all his brothers it would be Seijuurou that voiced his objections in private. He was prepared, but couldn't help the hurt he felt. He was trusted, oh god he was, but he was also loved far more than he believed he should be.
"I know Seijuurou. Believe me; please believe me. If I had the choice, if I could rightly do so without endangering us I would have us all in the same school- in the same class with the same schedule if I could! I don't want to be without any of you, I don't want to spend even an hour without being near you. You guys are like my life; you guys, my brothers are my life!" Sena stresses as his breathing becomes a little more ragged. "But I cannot, I can't rightly have you all in one school, and certainly not in once classroom, it would be too suspicious, not even that idiotic famiglia from America could ignore that kind of transfer and suspicious coincidence. I bet even Calcio of all of our brothers would know how suspicious that kind of coincidence was." Sena almost laughs. "And coincidence in this dark life is instant death. I cannot have any of you dying on me; not you, or Jumonji, or Mizumachi or Kakei, or Rei for that matter, no-one." Sena almost seethes through his anguish.
A sudden pressure appears on his forehead as he realises he's stopped. A large hand presses to the back of his head in a calming, warm pressure that leaves his protests halted as warm breath drifts through his dampened bangs.
"I know Sena; believe me when I say I know. You care for us too much sometimes. I will help settle the others into this new routine as best I can, but you know how stubborn they can be."
Smiling, feeling warm and accepted again, Sena starts to jog again, and soon enough the steady slap of sneakers on the damp road join him.
Of course, nothing ever goes to plan for a mafia family, and soon Sena notices both the jumping shadows in the morning's dark light, and the swift closing of the gap between Seijirou and himself.
"It's too bad these morning jogs can't be more private eh Giavellotto?" Sena asks smoothly as he leads his brother into a secluded part of the river bank which they job by.
"Yeah, usually it's our brothers that beg for our attention. Though, I can't help but expect Oceano or Acqua to jump out from around the corner."
Understanding the code Sena slows his jog to a stop. He knows Seijuurou would never leave them vulnerable.
Ever since Sena became official boss he was sure to equip his brothers accordingly. Along with various hand-to-hand and long distance weaponry, besides various legal and illegal means to conceal them, Sena set each of his brothers up with communication means of sorts. Each brother had a 'panic-button', a mechanism somewhere on their body- be that internally or externally concealed- that once triggered sent a signal to another mechanism concealed within or on each of them to alert the entire famiglia- that being all the brothers unless somewhere near one of the international bases- that someone was in danger.
Sena had an internal device just under the skin by his navel. His panic button was hard to activate for anyone besides him, but also pretty easy to conceal and east to activate without notice. Or course it meant ruining his shirt as he had to physically get under his skin. His receiving mechanism was just below his left ear, hidden behind a scar he received when he was only eleven. Of course, by the time he had the implant he had already memorised every single alert so he knew exactly whom was in danger when the signal rang out.
Seijuurou- and most of the other brothers- had internal devices, explaining that they'd rather not even chance loosing or missing the signal.
Seijuurou's 'panic-button' was concealed under a big black tattoo on his right forearm. When he activated it, it often looked like he was adjusting a glove, or fixing the cuff of his shirt. He never had to ruin his shirts to activate the button, though his was more noticeable than Sena's was, but Sena could not risk having his found. Seijuurou's receiver was also internally concealed- one of only three brothers to do so- his was found in the crook of his neck, placed around the area where his neck and right shoulder met. He often said it was his most sensitive spot, and therefore his reaction time was quicker- Sena though it was simply because he had a nasty scar there and felt concealing the device there would make Sena feel less guilty for it. Of course, Seijuurou also knew every signal, but he was most attuned to the signal form Sena's panic button.
Within minutes both had received brief signals from both Oceano and Acqua confirming that their signals had been received. Later the signal from Protezione and the Huhs would be felt by their receivers, but before then they were surrounded.
The men surrounded the boys, not caring they were out skilled, Sena and Seijuurou were far too strong to be taken by a mere six men- let alone men who didn't even make up the lower echelon of the Dragona famiglia.
The men were shabby, undertrained, and far too filled with some unrighteous zest that made them believe they could flaunt the Dragona symbol, as if they were actually considered a part of that retched famiglia to begin with. They were looking for glory, believing they were good enough to advance, to become one of the highly spoken members who meant something.
Sena found himself smiling wickedly at the men's idiocy. Idiota Sena thought. What idiots to be tempted by some tales of glory. You will die like swine, you are simply trash made to delay us, and Di Fortuna will never be taken by such idiots that even the Dragona wish to step on.Sena's smile twisted into something vile and once Seijuurou caught sight of this wished he had never let his brother out of the house.
The smile was one that made all the brothers cower- it wasn't the 'boss-face' they could all joke about, it was the 'mafia-face' they all cursed Sena's father for creating. It was a truly black, evil smirk that was worn by the Dragona boss, and all the bosses like him, when they were culling the weak and spineless.
They charged then, quickly, and with a sharpness that came from adrenalin, and not from skill. There were boys amongst the men, ones who couldn't have seen even sixteen years. They were childish, without proper training, much to Sena's displeasure. He would mutely think while he fought, that he wanted to stretch his skills on worthy opponents, not lambs sent to the slaughter by their shepherds.
As Sena weaved in and out of the punches, his feet blurring now and then as he moved- leaving an afterimage of himself- his mind was casted back to when he first started learning the skills that were on display to his enemies- both terrifying and entrancing them. For Sena's movements were a work of art, something that was to be watched in awe, something you only saw once in a life time. Sena's movements were a dance, and his dance partner- as it always was- was death itself.
It was long before his father had given him his gun that Sena had begun to learn the skills that would one day be the only difference between life and death. He had always been a quick-learning child, smart in his mind and body, but he learned to run faster than he had learned to do anything else. His feet were his asset, and once his friend turned brother turned guardian had taught him the basics he took it from there, soon outrunning his friend. Of course, his father had seen this and acted accordingly.
"Sena, you will master this skill, and you will learn to use it to your advantage,"
"But why father?" Sena has asked yet again, he didn't like the thought of using the pure running his brother had shown him for anything else but to run. He didn't.
"Because son, it is your only duty."
So from there it started, his father was tough, brutal in fact, he didn't hesitate to make his son cry, and didn't even flinch when a stray hand cause blood to drip from his son's mouth as he panted.
"F-father, it hurts..." Sena would moan as the pain grew worse and worse.
"Then get stronger and avoid the hits."
From that moment on Sena learned never to complain, if he did his father's eyes would grow cold and distant, the lessons would grow more painful and he'd just end up in even more pain by the end.
The lessons lasted for a good number of hours every day- Sena was often homeschooled when he was between the ages of nine and twelve, but it wasn't the homeschooling that children were encouraged to receive, it was brutal endurance and stamina training as well as physical battering and strengthening.
He'd run miles and miles before performing various strengthening exercises, then finally technique training in every form of martial arts- both common and illegal. By the time he was ten he could have beaten many children in their late teen- of course it was only later her realised why he was being trained so harshly.
His father left for a while when Sena was ten, only for a year, when he returned battered and broken to the point that both Sena and his mother thought they'd lose him, but that's a different story.
It was during that year that Sena came into his own. Left alone with his developing skills – the ones that were developing exponentially- he learned where his body was comfortable, where his weaknesses laid and how to make them his strengths.
The power within his body- if left unchecked- would have surely taken him over, made him vile and dangerous, and Sena knew this. He was smart enough to realise his father was an ignorant, and often times arrogant man- he didn't know Sena's true strength and left a half trained child alone during a crucial time- so Sena had to react accordingly, he had to train to control the rushes of power coming into full blossom within his juvenile body.
He trained with Kakei, Mizumachi, and Seijuurou, all of them saddened by their brother's bruised and broken form every time he trained. Kakei and Mizumachi trained him how their father's trained them, from them he learned practical skills that were useful in mafia life- for Kakei and Mizumachi recognized the signs of a boss in training. From Seijuurou he learned control and stamina. He learned the discipline of a good workout, and the importance of relaxing when necessary. They were very different lessons, coming from very different walks of life- but lessons they were none the less- and lessons that were to form the base for his future life.
Of course, later in his life, as he became boss and found the rest of his guardians he learned new skills- each of the boys giving him something more. Though, as he always said to them- he would never stop learning, because the day he stopped learning was the day he became arrogant.
It was from their training, when Sena was just coming into his own that Sena's smooth, yet sharp dance came to life. He created a sharp style that often left his opponents at a loss as to when-the-hell he got behind them. His fighting would one day be signature. It would be the movements of his body that would give him his name, and also his occupation- he was death's meteor- Meteora di Morte.
Of course, it was far too late for his enemies by the time they realised Sena was behind them, because they were usually falling into a puddle of their own blood at this time.
Shocked out of his own thoughts by the sound of gunfire, Sena once again streaks past his opponents; his sharp placed footsteps create an echo in the alleyway, making it even more difficult to pinpoint him, then again, they would never be able to place him anyway- he might as well be a reaper.
"Meteora! Watch your back!" he heard Oceano call out to him.
Taking the advice he ducked towards the ground, spinning around just in time to catch Acqua diving from behind a wall, in his hands- glinting in the afternoon light- were his knives. It was his signature in the mafia world, knives as long as his forearm with a slight curve in them, they were often holstered on his sleek thighs, and when removed were like shark teeth- serrated only slightly. With swift movements, like a fish through water- the men fell to the ground, heaps of trash compared to the men that stood in the carnage.
"Meteora, are you alright?" Oceano worried as he scanned the small boy with the drawn hood.
"Oceano, Acqua, am I glad you're here." He smiled as he embraced his brothers- at that point in time he didn't care who saw them- he needed the physical reassurance.
After so many years, Sena knew he probably acted like a child, but sometimes, when the mind is weak, the past really does cow even the strongest of men.
Sensing their boss' terror, both Mizumachi and Kakei embrace the young boss. Their eyes drifted towards Seijuurou as he cleans up somewhat and he mouths to them, 'it was that again.'
Both freeze momentarily to the thought of their baby-boss becoming so dark once again. They sigh imperceptibly and squeeze their brother tight. Then Kakei presses his hand to Sena's abdomen and almost laughs at the hiss of pain.
"Ow! Owwwww, ow ow owwwww. Kakei! That hurts!" Sena hisses as he tries to pull away from his brothers probing hand.
"Now now, we need to stop the bleeding, besides the fact that your alarm is still blaring in my ears." He laughs.
Out of all the brothers, only Seijuurou and Kakei know how to activate and deactivate Sena's 'panic-button'; Jumonji also knows how to deactivate it, but even then he only gets it right three out of five times.
Kakei is another of Sena's brothers with a concealed 'panic-button' and receiver. His 'panic-button' is concealed under the skin of his right hip, it sits snugly beside the bone, and if he stretches just right it's visible to anyone who's looking. However, unless you know what it is, it is often mistaken for his hip-bone itself. One of the reasons he chose to have it concealed there was for that reason- he is skinny, unhealthily so in Sena's opinion- and if the button was concealed anywhere else it would stick out suspiciously with no way to excuse it. Sena wasn't happy about the assessment and often –right up until the operation to have it inserted into Kakei's body- begged him to have unconcealed devices. Of course Kakei denied Sena's request and had both his button and receiver implanted at the same time. Of course Kakei's receiver is also concealed, but it's hidden beneath a large tattoo on his shoulder blade. Somehow or another you cannot see the devise, and it has never been detected- but he explained to Sena how he can feel the signal against his bones and that makes him react immediately, as creepy as that sounds to Sena, he can't help but accept and appreciate his brothers creepy ideas.
Mizumachi on the other hand had unconcealed devices, but that was more for his health than anything. Sena remembered a time when Mizumachi was covered with surgical scars, never truly without them... he remembered raw skin and scabbed stitches, he remembered blood and bandages... shaking himself from the thought he catches sight of the thick black ring on his right ring finger- next to his famiglia ring- and caught sight of the flashing silver line that indicated Sena's panic alarm was still blaring. Mizumachi noticed the vacant look and smiled crookedly.
"It's still buzzin' boss. Mind turning yur' alarm off?" he laughed and he tapped the ring.
Sena sighed and hissed again when Kakei's fingers brushed the jagged wound and managed –somehow though Sena's hoodie and t-shirt, to turn the alarm off. Sighing to himself, Sena also caught sight of the panic button hidden within Mizumachi's thigh holster.
"Mizumachi... why are you only wearing boxers?... it's like two degrees outside."
Mizumachi looked down and noticed he was still in his boxers, and that his thigh holsters were visible from under the fairly thin, blue fabric. His thin, white t-shirt was doing nothing to hide the black leather cases strapped to his chest hiding his guns either.
"Hahaha, funny story. I was actually about to take a bath when this thing started going berserk." He smiles to himself tapping the ring on his right hand; he laughs and throws his arm over his equally tall brother and pokes his cheek as he continues. "Funnier still is the fact that this guy has just gotten out when his went off, he was pulling his pants on when we ran out the door.
Looking down Sena notices that Kakei's pants are falling off his thin hips, and the fact that his hair is dripping with water. "Um, Kakei-nii?" He asks innocently as he stares at what Kakei assumes is the floor.
"Why the hell aren't you two wearing shoes?" Seijuurou asks as he rounds the corner, blood splattering all but his face. He quickly explains to Sena that Jumonji, Shozo, and Kuroki are organizing the clean up or the Dragona lackies.
Suddenly Sena breaks into laughter; his face warms as he spies Kakei's undignified, embarrassed expression as he tries to explain- while attempting to keep his dignity- exactly why he wasn't wearing shoes to the stoic teen beside him.
Laughing until he's leaning against the all for support Sena wipes tears from his deep, warm eyes.
"I'm hungry." He comments, stomach growling like a lion in the evening.
"Then I think we should to home for some food." Kakei agrees, his face still flushed in embarrassment.
"I want pancakes!" Mizumachi exclaims as he swings an arm over Sena's shoulders.
"Okay... fist one there gets to eat the first round." Sena runs off then, he's followed by three pairs of hurried footsteps and laughter fills the air.
Sometimes he's disturbed by the fact him and his brothers can brush off killing so easily, especially since all three of them are covered in the enemy's blood. At the same time he can't help but be happy they can, because when killing is an act as easy as brushing your teeth, you need to be able to get up and walk towards another day.
Well, is it me or is this chapter a little creepier than usual?
Did I leave a little cliffie for you about Mizumachi? Well I felt like it! I'm the author so I can :D
I know it seems disgusting, but I've heard all sorts of stories about drugs, weaponry, and things like keys being concealed within the body, and in pockets surgically made in the body (like in the mouth :S)... so what the hell, Sena's family is going to have implanted devises on them... call it a AU version if you will... yeah I'll go with that.
Don't worry, eventually you will learn where everyone else keeps their 'devises'- that is if you want to- but I thought it'd overwhelm you if I just threw it at you... that and I got bored :P
Arigatou. Thank you. Grazie tante. Merci.
Please Review.
~~Bleach-ed-Na-tsu :3