Haze
Chapter 1
~ Dream Realm ~
"Who are you?" Naomi asked suspiciously, to the girl standing in front of her. She had never seen someone who wore this type of attire before.
The girl was wearing a black sleeveless leather top, exposing her tummy and shorts. A strange accessory – an orange pacifier hung around her neck. What stood out most was her mushroom-shaped hat with its astounding size that exceeded her head length. The huge hat contrasted with the petite face of hers, making it seem as if her head was even smaller on the petite figure.
The girl gave a brief smile, highlighting her eyes that were a sparkling blue that seemed deep as the sea. "I'm Yuni. Nice to meet you, Naomi Cavallone."
Naomi narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "How do you know my name?" She said briskly.
The girl took a step forward towards her. "Don't worry; I won't do you any harm. I just need to speak to you." She said consolingly. "Do you realize where you are?"
Naomi widened her eyes, and swiftly glanced around her surroundings that she had not paid attention to. She was in an endless stretch of meadows with a blue open sky that was filled with different shapes of clouds. No words could describe what she saw. It was like a painting brought to reality, astounding in every manner.
Astounded, Naomi could not answer. She tried to recall where she last once, but was unable to. Frustrated, she shook her head, and pierced her orange eyes at Naomi, demanding for answers.
"You're in a dream realm." The girl explained. "This is a place where you enter when you dream. I've entered your dream, in order to speak to you. Let's sit before we speak— it's going to take a long while." She said and led Naomi towards a nearest bench.
"So who are you?" Naomi asked curiously when she sat down, facing the other girl on the other side of the bench. She noticed the girl had a particular tattoo on her left cheekbone –a blue ten-pointer star enclosed within a five pointer asterisk with rounded ends.
"I'm Yuni. I knew your name; due to my clairvoyant powers. I've came to talk to you because I need your help and cooperation."
Naomi's eyebrows rose dramatically. "You have clairvoyant powers?"
Yuni nodded; face serious. "Believe me. I've inherited clairvoyance from my ancestor. The power to do so has always passed through my bloodline."
Naomi huffed. "Okay, so you have clairvoyance. What does that matter with me?"
"I saw you inside the future that I prophesised. A future that I hope would come true." Yuni replied with a strained voice. "I came to persuade you to become the Haze Guardian for the Vongola Famiglia."
"Vongola Famiglia?" Naomi asked. "Aren't they the top family? Why do you need me to join?"
"I've searched many alternatives using my clairvoyance in order to protect the Vongola, and finally found it. You. You are a haze user, able to control all elements except sky. This will allow you to become one of the guardians to unite and train the Vongola Famiglia. In addition—I know this does not sound convincing, but you also have the personality to do it."
"Elements?" Naomi vaguely remembered what they were—Sky, cloud, sun, lightning, water, storm, mist and haze. This means she had control of seven out of the eight elements? But she had never heard of this before. In the first place, she had little knowledge of the elements in general.
"I can control them?" Naomi hesitantly questioned.
"Yes." Yuni replied with certainty. "That's why I need your help. The Vongola will pick you as their haze guardian two years from now on, and I need you to be prepared and strong—for what is to come. I have to tell you my life story, for everything began from there. Would you care to hear about it?" Yuni asked with a tinge of sadness to it.
Naomi nodded, and Yuni began her story.
"From birth, I was born as an arcobaleno, an infant that carried the cursed blood. My life destined to be short. When I was young, my mother told me never to fall in love, having foretold that I would be the last of my bloodline. There was no doubt in what she said for my bloodline has the power of clairvoyance. Back then; I thought what she had said would be meaningless for I thought nothing would make me fall in love with another, but I was wrong. I fell in love with Byakuran, whom I met at mafia school, and these very Lilacs-" she pointed at the flowers nearby "-are the flowers he used to send me every time. He said he loved me, and I believed him wholeheartedly, but till the end I still do not know what he actually thought."
Yuni paused, and took a deep breath before continuing, "It all started when he found out about rings—the power it withheld. He became so was immersed into it that he changed; often spending entire day researching about them while I was left alone, without his company when I wanted him to." She said miserably as she bit her lips. "But I still hoped, hoped that he would come back to me." Her voice trembled slightly at the end, but she tried to cover it.
"Things took a change for the worse. He did whatever it took to grab hold of the power, using his brusque methods. I was by his side every single day, watching him turning into a different person, not the one I once loved. Slowly, his goal became apparent—to combine the trinsette. He knew I was the sky acrobaleno, the sky the watches over all the other attributes." She said and laughed scornfully. "It was ironic and fated, that combining the trinisette could not be done so without my power."
Naomi grimaced with a pang of pity in her heart as she listened.
"The trinisette consists three sets of powerful rings—the acrobaleno pacifiers; though they are not in the form of rings, Vongola rings, and lastly, mare rings, all of which Byakuran had already acquired in his hands. He is the holder of the sky mare ring himself and is able to wield the power of linking his consciousness with other parallel universes. He used this to his advantage to take over the world, and control the parallel universes. However he was not satisfied with just that. He wanted to become the ultimate being that was able to control all the parallel universes existed, and I was made use as his convenient tool for his rise to power. But, even though I died, my other self in another parallel dimension inherits my memories because of my ability."
She adjusted her body to stand with confidence, her eyes shining with courage. "I want to correct my mistake. For him, I used my powers and caused the world— no, the entire universe to be at large now. And from my latest observation, he plans to play with my comrades…I didn't realise I had dragged my own comrades down with him." She choked out the last words with difficulty.
"That's why I here right now speaking to you." She turned her gaze towards Naomi, eyes hard. "You are the chosen one to be the haze guardian of the tenth Vongola family – the one to guard over the tenth generation Vongola, for the arcobalenos were removed for trying to save me from Byakuran due to the threat they might pose. I cannot express into words how devastated I was when I found out their existence had been wiped out. My only hope was to rely on my powers to help replace the acrobalenos existence. And here you have a part to play in this. You'll become the Vongola's mentor, and guide them along the way together with their allies. You'll need the skills that the other arcobalenos had before joining. My comrades, the acrobalenos, will be summoned as your tutor here, in this dream realm using my power. While you're sleeping, you will enter the dream realm to learn from them. The training will last two years from now till you join the Vongola."
"I'm sorry that I had to force you with this role." Yuni apologised gravely. "But there is no other choice."
Naomi nodded. "I understand." Vaguely, she felt a sense of purpose from hearing what Yuni required of her. Throughout her life, she always felt a sense of emptiness that she had no obligations and purpose, for the successor of boss in her family was to be inherited by her brother, Dino.
With this, it would change her life. For better or worse, she did not know.
It was a peaceful morning at Cavallone Mansion, with the radiant sun illuminating through windows and brightening up the mansion. The rest of her family were already up, going about their usual morning activities. Animals had already started to stir outside in the yard, filling the silence with the usual morning animal calls.
The Cavallone Mansion was a two-storey mansion, the lower level consisting of the kitchen, and mainly training rooms, while the upper level was where personal rooms were located for the members of the household. The front of the mansion had a garden of different flowers, and compassing it, in the outskirts was an enormous 10 feet high gate, with only two visible entrances; the front and the back. There were also of course secret escape pathways in case of emergencies.
Occupants of the Cavallone family consists of the grandfather, Jack Cavallone; currently acting as the head of the family, and his two grandchildren, Dino and Naomi Cavallone. The youngest in the mansion, Naomi had yet to wake up. If anyone entered her bedroom, they would've seen that she had a determined expression on her face.
The girl on the bed slowly opened her eyes, recalling back to what she dreamt and wondered if it was real. It was really realistic, and she found herself wondering musing to herself that if the dream continued, it would be real.
The next night, Naomi was in the dream realm once more, but the surroundings were different. She was in a large training room that was as large as about four basketball courts. The four sides were metallic and lustrous; the only entrance was a metal sliding door that had a level reading on top of it. It looked futuristic. Yuni was already waiting for her. Naomi was slightly aware that she was wearing different clothing from what she previously wore and the person was smiling at her.
"Are you ready?" asked Yuni, and Naomi nodded excitedly.
"Okay then. The training lesson starts now; I will be summoning Lal Mirch, your first tutor.' She took a deep breath and closed her eyes; concentrating. The orange pacifier near her chest began to glow brightly. Naomi waited with bated breath for whoever that was going to appear.
Lal Mirch slowly appeared out of thin air. She was a blue haired lady with a distinct scar on her left cheek, goggles on her head, and wearing a cloak that was held together by a gorilla head. Her piercing amber eyes seemed to see right through anyone.
"Lal, I introduce you to Naomi here, who is the haze guardian of Vongola – I want you to train her. The ways of the rings and boxes." She waved her hand towards Naomi. Lal's piercing eyes landed on her, and she shifted, uncomfortable from the strong scrutiny.
"I've never seen her before" She said quickly, while studying Naomi. "Even so, I'm not going to teach her. She probably can't even light the ring." she folded her arms and looked away towards the entrance that seemed like a metallic elevator, now that Naomi looked at it more.
Yuni quickly walked towards Naomi and whispered, "Think of a Vongola Haze ring, and box weapons."
Naomi looked confusedly back at Yuni as she withdrew back. What did rings and boxes?
"Just do as I say." insisted Yuni.
Naomi closed her eyes and chanted the items in her head. A few seconds passed; and she felt something heavy weighing on her index finger. She looked intriguingly at the accessories. So this was how it worked; wishing for things in this place made it materialise. The ring was shaped like a shield; it bore an intricate carving three clam shells on the top and a small cartoon-like haze below. This was probably the Vongola Haze ring. Lying on the floor next to her were two square objects that were most probably box weapons.
With a sense of anticipation, Naomi crept nearer to the objects. At the same time, she spied her tutor standing in front of the entrance, head tilted upwards; looking at the level reading. Diverting her attention back on hand, Naomi examined the boxes. One of the two boxes stated Vongola, and was grey in colour. The other was a metallic skull box.
"In the future, these boxes will become the core of fighting techniques." Yuni pointed to those while saying, "They are used to contain weapons. In order to open them, you will first need to light up your ring and insert the flame into the hole of the box. Now, try to do so by imagining channelling your resolution to the very ring. A flame should be lit up onto of it."
Naomi was puzzled. What did she mean by her resolution to light up the ring? What resolution?
"The determination to fight." Yuni suddenly said as if reading her thoughts.
Naomi nodded, and followed as she said. The first thing she thought was protecting her clumsy older brother who was going to be boss despite his personality. She channelled all these thoughts onto her ring and tried to visualise a flame. Energy pulsed through her veins; towards her clenched fist, fingers, and finally to the ring. She opened her eyes in surprise to see a haze flame on the top of it.
"I knew you would get it on the first try!" Yuni exclaimed, grabbing Naomi's hands, brightly smiling. The tutor was at once by Naomi's side at the swish of her cloak, looking at the flame with a look of disbelief and awe.
"A haze flame?" She exclaimed in amazement, "I've never seen one before. It's said to be the rarest flame!"
"Interested now?" Yuni grinned as she asked the tutor beside her.
Lal cleared her throat and looked away what seemed like a blush. "I will accept training her." She said briskly with a new determined air. Yuni smiled as if she had won.
"Now…" Lal glanced down at the girl in front of her. "Let's start the training." She glanced down at Naomi's fingers and she muttered thoughtfully, "Let's see whether what I heard was true – that the haze guardian is rumoured to have all attributes except the sky, but they are so rare…" she trailed off, then cleared her throat once more, embarrassed that she was muttering away.
"Let's try to open your Vongola Box weapon first." She advised.
Naomi inserted the flame into the box opening. For a moment, the box remained still as usual, followed by the lids flipping open, revealing a butterfly with dark silver shiny scales. It flickered in transparency, with varying levels of grey. Naomi admired this silver beauty. She stepped forward, hesitant to touch it. Circling around her, the butterfly circled around her and landed onto her finger, as if welcoming her as the master. Naomi brought her hand towards the butterfly's wings and stroked it lightly.
"You're lovely" she complimented. The butterfly fluttered its wings in response.
A sharp voice interrupted the moment. "I know you're impressed with your box weapon, but remember that you're supposed to be training. Don't get distracted. Go on and open the other box."
"Got it." Naomi meekly answered back. The other metallic box weapon opened to reveal a shiny silver Beretta M92F with an X mark on the side.
"Hmmm…" Lal looked down at her guns and commented, "A gun like Reborn? It would be best if he teaches you that. I will leave that to him. For my part, I will teach you how to control your flame and stamina which is needed for your body. Now, try to evade this!"
Naomi's fighting capabilities were tested at once by Lal summoning the centipede. It lunged forward to attack Naomi with its sharp pincers. In self-defence, she used her Beretta to shoot at the centipede but there was no effect. Naomi had no choice but to run away to avoid being crushed. All of the sudden, the world turned upside down and she felt an overwhelming weight crushing her body. Seconds seemed to last forever as she struggled against the centipede.
As soon as Naomi thought she might pass out, the weight unexpectedly disappeared. She tried opening her eyes to see what happened. A pair of black shoes entered her vision. Those shoes could only belong to the tutor, she thought. The next thing she knew, she was being pulled up and yelled at, even being slapped harshly.
"Wake up! Now's not the time to lie down!" The tutor shrieked in her ears. She tried to clear her mind and stand properly as she faced the tutor, Lal that was glaring at her.
"You're conscious now?"
Naomi nodded her head fearfully, and Lal finally let her go. She wobbled a bit as she stood on her own two feet.
"I see that you have a good reaction. However, you still have lots of ways to go." Lal commented sharply.
Yuni sighed at Lal's Spartan way of teaching. It was harsh training, but Lal was a great teacher and would help speed up Naomi's growth.
Dino heaved a big sigh, sliding down from the wall and cradled his knees, his head faced down. He had not chosen his weapon yet, despite attending the Mafia School for half a semester already. If he did not choose one soon…Dino shivered. He could not imagine the consequences—he had heard from his seniors that at the end of the semester, there would be scheduled duelling amongst the students. A student without a designed weapon would most likely fail the test, for the examiners would tell he was not familiar with the weapon. Furthermore, failing the test meant getting beaten up to a pulp by the enemy. What was worst was that being a failed mafia would result in a disgrace of the family. Rumours would spread, and what awaited him was bullying. He already saw bouts of such situations occurring in the school.
Dino groaned again at that thought, and buried his face deeper into his thighs. The last but not the least, his pride was at stake. Was he useless at fighting and clumsy at everything he did?
His sister walked into the room and her eyebrows lifted questioningly as she saw him. Dino heard her footsteps and glanced at her. She was the more intelligent one, more responsible, and she never had any problems with clumsiness… he could not help but think towards the direction of jealousy. His sister. She was even younger than him. Did it make sense? He laughed bitterly, his face forlorn in sadness.
As Dino was absorbed in his thoughts, without knowing, his sister made her way towards him, and a whip was thrusted into his hands.
Dino was briefly startled. He stared down fixedly at dull-brown whip in his hands and eyed his sister in surprise.
"What's this for?" he held out the whip.
"Your weapon. Brother Dino, haven't you had trouble with finding the suitable weapon for ages?" Naomi gave a small smile. "You haven't tried this weapon have you? I bet you will be good at it."
Her brother looked at her questioningly. Naomi knew that what she said was true. She had learnt from Yuni that in the future that her brother would be one of the top Mafioso that was very capable with his whip. He was even named Buckling Dino.
"I wonder…" he gave a loud sigh. Was the whip the weapon for him? He could only believe in his sister.
The next day, he went back to the mafia training school, and tried his hardest at learning the whip. He found that it suited him, like his sister said.
Three months passed by in a flurry; and finally, Naomi had said her goodbye to Lal Mirch. She was overjoyed over the switch in tutors. Not that she didn't like her; but her training ways honestly were too arduous for her to take it, despite being unaffected by injuries when she woke up, for there was still the psychological torture…
Yuni smiled. "As you know, it is the time for the next trainer – Reborn. He will be teaching you the ways of the gun." As soon as she said, she closed her eyes to summon.
A small like figure wearing a suit and a fedora hat appeared. He was so short that Naomi thought that it must be a child. As he turned; she got a closer look of him, and her mouth fell open. Not that she didn't hit the mark; she was actually close to it. But she did not expect… it would be a baby.
"What am I here for?" Reborn asked.
Yuni shifted her gaze to Naomi. "To help train her the way of the gun." She said, and Reborn followed her gaze. His gaze was calculating as he took Naomi in completely. Then he turned back to Yuni.
"Yuni, since you are the one requesting, I will help to train her in the way of the gun." His said with a respectful tone, which Naomi did not expect.
The baby walked towards her, his eyes darkening with anticipation. Naomi felt a shiver down her spine. It was as if he was a predator, yet at the same time he was a harmless baby if you look him at the surface.
"Hmph. Don't underestimate me. I am the world strongest Hitman." Reborn said smugly. Naomi gasped in surprise having guessed her thoughts.
She watched as he lifted his left hand towards the rim of the hat – as if trying to find something. A green chameleon appeared out of thin air, and crawled onto his small hand. As he grabbed hold of it, the chameleon morphed into a green and black gun. How could a chameleon change shape? This one certainly could, and Naomi gaped soundlessly (for the third time). He was full of surprises, and she could not escape in time when the gun tilted up at her, a bullet heading right straight at her.
Naomi fell onto the floor with a thud when the bullet hit her, a shock expression frozen on her face. In around ten seconds, she regained consciousness. It was rather comical to see her clasping her hand onto her forehead to search for a gaping hole for she was sure the bullet had passed through it. When she realised no injury was done, she directed an angry look at Reborn.
"What did you do that for? I could have died!" She exclaimed indignantly.
"But you didn't. Have assurance in my skills." said Reborn, smirking slightly, crossing his arms. "Feel too cowardly and want to back out?"
"No way!" Naomi threw a dirty look and groaned inwardly. She swore she would have a rough time coming with this tutor. She had a feeling he was as Spartan as Lal. Were all Yuni's comrades like this?
After a few months, Naomi had other tutors like Collonello, Fong, Skull and lastly Verde that she thought was a genius. Under Verde, she learnt the mechanics of the ring, dying will and box weapons. After she had learnt from him, Yuni had advised her to use this knowledge to create the weapons she needed in real life.
To collect the items needed for her box weapons and rings, Naomi often had to set out on expeditions. Two years of being under the arcobalenos' tutorage passed by like a swift train. The skills she had learnt boosted her family status immensely from completed missions that Naomi had achieved. It also earned her the title of Dead-accurate Naomi. Adding to glory of Cavallone Family, her brother was nicknamed Bucking Dino the following month. Their grandfather, the boss of the Cavallone Family was pleased with them, as this meant Cavallone Family rise to power, becoming one of the top ten Mafia families.
Naomi she entered into the Dream Realm as usual that particular day, anticipating a training session until she saw Yuni's solemn look on her face, which made her think that something must have happened.
"I'm afraid I have to tell you some bad news" She said, "Your family is in danger. Byakuran is going to attack- I've seen it with my clairvoyance."
Naomi clenched her fist, eyes hard in clear orange, and waited for the grim news.
"You know that I've been observing Byakuran. He has started a new game of his – playing with my comrades lives by scheduling to attack families one by one and create havoc in the mafia world. This was why he allowed them to live before allowing the world to exist." Yuni gravely said.
"And the first family he picked was mine." Naomi interrupted; her voice near to a whisper. "Why?"
"He drew lots." Yuni raised her hand, trying to explain, "I know it sounds absurd, but even though your family is picked, they can overcome it. Once the allies know about the attack, your family will be able to gather allies before Byakuran can eliminate them. And don't you worry; you have honed your skills in these two years. Same for Dino too, isn't it?"
"That's true, but—" Naomi tried to argue. How her family lives were in her hands. How much pressure it gave her.
"Since I know the date and time of the attack, your side can be prepared and make plans for it." Yuni's gaze suddenly turned very serious. "In order to defeat Byakuran, it is imperative that the allies' lives have to be saved. Not one can be left out. Even your family. It's a warning that I have to give. Everyone's lives are interlinked with each other, including yours."
Yuni clasped Naomi hands that were clammy from her anxiousness. "I know you can do it."
Naomi eyes flashed with determination. "I will."