Author's Note:

The start of the new arc as well as the start of his role as Zanna Decimo for Amato. Things might not be what people might expect, but I hope you guys enjoy the story nonetheless.

Chapter 6: Responsibility.

It was.. morning? It was cold. The wind blew, chilling my body, reminding me of winter-time. Today just seems unnaturally cold, and my body ached a lot more, I wonder why? The sun has not risen, so the streets was bathed with the calm, blue, blanket of night. It somehow feels gratifying that nothing is happening and the city is calm and quiet. The waves swivel softly, in a hypnotizing fashion. My empty bedroom gives off a rightly boring feel. I laid on my bed, my eyes are already open. Staring up at the ceiling, I find my body moving autonomously. What am I doing? I have to get back to sleep.

That was when reality came crashing down.

"Lord Amato! What are you still doing in bed? Get up!" A strict and beckoning voice called through the door, which strangely has a feminine feel to it.

"Wha-huh?" the words coming out of my mouth had little clarity in them. Looking at the clock beside my bed, I jumped to my surprise. "But it's four in the morning! Why do I have to wake up four hours earlier?" My complain boomed as I get empowered by my cranky, morning self. Well, I know better than to defy Kiera, so after a few minutes, I was out of bed and already preparing. Scurrying into the shower, I quickly turned the faucet and splashed my whole body with water.

! ! !

"Hhhiiiiyyyyyyaaaaahhhhhh!" I swear, my scream could probably be heard throughout the whole mansion, maybe even throughout the neighborhood. Why? Because the water was not warm, it was cold. Freezing in fact! That left me walking out of the bath shivering.

"Please Sir, tone down your voice." I hear Kiera's call, the power in her voice mysteriously disappeared.

"Why didn't the water heat up after I turned it on? I switched it on just after I woke up!" I spoke through the door as warmth slowly entered my body. At first, there was silence. I wonder if Kiera was still there, I heard no footsteps, so...

"My apologies, Sir, I.. turned it off, I'm so used to having no one bathing this early that I turned it off immediately when I saw it..." Her voice finally came through.

"Kiera..." I whined, my voice losing strength.. I hear her footsteps trotting away quickly after that.

After I got everything ready, I went downstairs and was surprised to see members of my Famiglia standing about. The white hall, statues and carvings and all, looked as grand and majestic as ever. "Good morning, Boss." A strong, heavy unified voice came out from the crowd. Moving orderly, they form a line surrounding the path that lead me to the throne of the Boss. It was as if they wanted me to sit on it. Most of them still has injuries all over, a painful sight. I can't actually see them fighting like that.

"Wait, uh.. What I meant is.. uh.." myself stammering in front of the Famiglia, their eyes staring at me, waiting for my command. I knew that it was going to be difficult. "Ahem." I clear my throat, giving myself time to calm down. "First order, I want those injured to stay in the mansion." A series of gasps and chatter erupted immediately as my words end. I suspect that the Famiglia will be reduced to a very small size should that order be carried out.

"But Sir! Our numbers!" Kiera exclaimed, the look on her face shows a girl irritated.

"You'll all stand a better chance surviving through any missions when you're better, okay?" I yelled out.

Silence assumed the hallways. I think they understood my message, reluctantly. Soon, after those injured went back to some of the empty rooms to recuperate, it left us with a handful of members. I can see a few adults as well as some teenagers. Two boys and a girl. They looked to be about my age, I guess.

That girl seems to be looking towards me often. Her blue eyes seem to glow with a mystique feel and her blond hair tied into a neat ponytail. Her big, bright eyes gives off a gentle feel, while her slow actions and friendly demeanor practically screams out the image of a shy, innocent girl. Heck, if I didn't know her, she would be the last person I would guess to belong in the Mafia! Her name is... Fina? Right, Serafina Walter. She prefers to be called 'Fina' though.

"Sera! What's wrong?" I ask out, curiousness flowing into my voice, the name just spilling out naturally.

"I told you not to call me that!" She yelled out suddenly, emotions flushing onto her face. She didn't really looked angry though, just embarrassed. It caught the attention of quite alot of the members, which forced her to quiet down again. "Um, it'.. nothing. I'm fine." She responded, the look of uncertainty on face disappearing. The answer only left me more curious. I wonder what or why?

Throughout the whole time, not one person has talked or smiled or in fact, done anything. They looked like zombies, walking around, standing about. Seriousness was plastered on each of their faces and that really brought down the feel of the whole mansion. I'll hate this job if this seriousness is all I'll see in my position as boss.

"Ugh, please can't you guys act more natural? Act normal, be yourselves. I don't want you guys to force seriousness just because of this line of work we do, okay?" I exclaimed while closing my eyes and shaking my head from left to right. No doubt this order came with its own set of gasps and chatter, but, whether they follow it through or not, has yet to be seen...

Soon, this handful of us left find ourselves in the meeting room, seated down surrounding a wide table with me sitting at the far side, everyone being seated either on my left or right and in my sights. I guess this is the seat of the Boss. They looked more relaxed now, though.

Yes, the meeting room. It used to be a fairly spacious room on the ground floor, with limited windows. Add in a table, chairs and outfit the room with a projector, and before I know it, it became the room used for planning strategies and missions. The table, silver-colored and cold to touch, is two-meters wide and ten-meters long with rounded edges, a real beauty in both its design and simplicity. Yeah, it's a really big table. Wooden chairs, with western design carvings carved into their designs, can be seen beside the table, giving off an ancient feel to the whole setting. Although the white color that is so prevalent in the mansion's design is still there, the lights, most of it coming from in-door lighting, calms the atmosphere, and somehow, makes it easier for people to take in things like information more seriously.

Catching wind of the members' occasional yawns only confirmed my thinking that this isn't a routine situation.

"Kiera, can you please tell me why I'm up three hours before I usually do? And please don't tell me this is for training..." My words came out as I slouch down my seat a bit, trying hard to hold back any yawning that might pop out of my mouth.

"Right." Was Kiera's own vocal signal as the projector began flashing the image of a map, with certain points crossed out. The map looks very familiar, and it should be.

"This is..." I gave off as a hint of seriousness entered my tone.

"Yes, this is Venice." Kiera responded while looking at the map intently herself. "The city of Venice belongs to the Zanna Famiglia. But, over the past few years, lack of resources made us lose vital areas of the city to opposing Famiglias." She continued her explanation, which sounded more and more like a speech. "We must secure these areas and bring them back under Zanna control." I was speechless by all this. Stunned by the burst of information, I find it difficult to follow it all.

"We have been planning this for weeks now, the first area must be secured today." The words coming out of Kiera's mouth was like a commander demanding victory.

"But Kiera, with our numbers currently..." Sera desperately voice out in her soft tone.

"Yes, well, Boss' orders, we'll make do with what we have." Kiera declared with a hint of irritation in her tone. Although she doesn't openly disagree, her glare makes me think otherwise, so strong was it that I felt like hiding under the table. "We have the boss' strength with us now, maybe it'll be enough." She calmly assures the rest of the members while still studying the projected map intently.

"Wait, how powerful are the opposing Famiglias?" I call out when I realized that I'll probably be in the thick of these battles, triggering a smile on Kiera's face.

"Good point, our scouts have said that the Mafia in these areas are mostly grunts, but they might have one or two elites with them, but, they are from the weaker Famiglias..." She says so while breathing out a breath of relief. "They probably won't be as strong as that guy yesterday." That was when the projection vanished.

"All right, we'll leave as soon as you guys have your breakfast!" She exclaimed happily with a smile on her face while the rest of the members seem reluctant to that idea. Kiera must be enjoying this, she has a passion for cooking that 'Burns as hot as the sun itself!' she said. "Don't give me that, you all probably haven't had your breakfast yet, the last thing we need is someone falling in the battlefield because of hunger!" She gives her reason while walking towards the kitchen.

"Wait, I'll help!" I called out, my sleepy legs following her steps. "And what did you mean by 'Probably'?"

The kitchen, with it's marble floor and wooden cabinets, it reminds me of those traditional kitchen people used to have. The smell of food can always be found drifting around, even when nobody's cooking. Well, it's probably because of how often Kiera spends her time in here. As soon as you enter, your eyes catch sight to rows and rows of knifes, lined up neatly and arranged from the type of dishes they are to be used in, to their size or length. When I finally caught up to Kiera, she was already chopping some vegetables on the chopping board. "What can you help with, sir?" She voiced out while her eyes focused on the chopping, the speed of her hands so fast they seem like the hands of a Master Chef. "I recall you never had any experience with cooking." She continued, taking out bread from the oven. "Baking a pizza in a rice cooker, ha!" She suddenly let out together with a smile and a laugh before shutting up. "Sorry, Lord Amato."

"Hey, if they can bake bread with a rice-cooker, I don't see why you can't bake a pizza with it!" I argued back, getting annoyed at her reaction. She always brings that up in the kitchen! It was that one time, one time!

"And that's why you can never bake, Lord Amato." Alas, my arguments were all shrugged off by that statement. I feel myself drowned by her immense experience and knowledge in all forms of cooking, and getting really annoyed.

"Just let me help!" I cried out, hands reaching out towards her with my eyes closed and a smile on my face. I don't know what went over me.

"Wait, stop, you're disrupting the process! Lord-"

Crash!

When I opened my eyes, I was staring at the ceiling. I must have slipped and fell. I can feel something on my body, and it's.. warm? Turning my vision downwards, I caught sight of golden bangs swishing before coming face to face with Kiera. Apparently, we fell and she landed on top of me. As our eyes locked with each other, our faces was only a few inches apart. Neither of us move or said anything as a few seconds ticked by. The only change was Kiera blushing before I felt the same. "Uh, sorry. Are.. you okay?" I asked out, looking away from her eyes before putting my hands on her shoulders, trying to help her up. That was when she knocked my hands aside with hers and scurried to her feet as soon as my fingers touched her, almost as if by reflex. I was left on the floor, confused.

She did not say a word but the look on her face said it all. It showed fear, confusion while her face was still red. The strangest thing was that at the very moment I touched her, I felt her shiver, it was as if I touched an injury or an open wound.

"Don't worry about the battles, I know you can do it." Kiera gave out as she turned her back on me and returned to cooking minutes later, leaving me staring at my hand and wondering what happened.

Before long, breakfast was ready and we all ate as fast as we could. Throughout breakfast, Kiera had her eyes closed while she bit down on plain bread.

Soon, we were ready to set out. As the group assembled behind me and Kiera, she gave out the order. "Our target is Ospedale Civile di Venezia." As her words boomed I pushed open the two front doors.

"Operation: Drug Haven, initiate."

The end of another chapter. Sorry for being late a bit, thinking of the basis for the chapters are easy, writing out exactly how it goes is difficult. For those of you who is unsure, the target is the Hospital of Venice. What is wrong with Kiera? Do you like the Yakitate Japan reference? As usual, praise, comment or criticize in your reviews!