Author's Note:
I'm feeling really excited! It's just a few more chapters till the next phase of the story! Where Tsuna and his friends find themselves facing greater challenges, so will the Zanna Famiglia! Keep a lookout for surprises you never expect!
Chapter 32: Knight And The Horse.
Light faded in and out, going from bright to dimmed in a matter of moments as I sat on the bench in the park. I didn't have anything that tells time, but I guess it was around four o'clock. One could see the orange tint just barely diluting the yellow rays of the afternoon sun. The air was just in the right amount of chill, giving off a really relaxing atmoshpere as the cool air slowly shifted. I wasn't alone however. Gina's gone home, and I've sent Sera back to her patrols, but for some strange reason, Johann asked me to go to the park with him. While I sat there, reflecting on this rather unusual yet enjoyable day, Johann stood a few feet beside me, leaning by a lamppost.
I guess today's been... fun. Thinking back, I can't help but smile at what happened, even if it wasn't the most easiest get-together ever, not that I go out much. Maybe I should.. thank Johann? It's the polite thing to do, I guess. As I ran my fingers across the carved wooden seat of the bench, I slowly turn my eyes to Johann. Strangely, he has been unusually quiet, and he has a serious look in his eyes.
As Johann continued to check his watch and phone, as well as the surroundings, I decided to start talking.
"Johann.. I.. uh.." I muttered, stammering at my words. It felt very, very awkward. Johann's eyebrows continue to remain furrowed, and he looked to be in a great deal of concentration.
"No time, Zanna Decimo. I need you to stay alert here." He said out, his tone stern and demanding. It reminded me of a military officer. Wait, did he just call me Decimo? At the wonder, I was already up on my feet, my body slowly walking towards him automatically. Confused as I was, I thought maybe I just heard wrong and returned to my previous train of thought.
"I ... uh.. just want to thank yo-" I muttered out once more. However, same as before, I find myself getting interrupted, his words cutting right in.
"Focus! They're almost here." He declared once more. The wind shift his hair as he stared right into my eyes. His shaggy, golden strands of hair seems to really shine as the sunlight glowed from his back. His eyes glow with a strength unlike anything I've seen before. A random thought flashed across my mind at that moment. He looks really cool. In a swift motion, he pulls off the gray cloth wrapped around the item on his back, and threw it to the ground. In fast, powerful movements, he unsheathed the item and held it in front of me.
It was a sword. A longsword, the most... beautiful sword I've ever laid my eyes upon. Glazed white flushed over its hilt, the handle looking like jewelry. A sparkling, almost majestic silver blade extends from the hilt, reaching the length of about one and a half meters. Obtuse, black metal pieces snakes around the blade, covering and surrounding the silver like predators, giving them a cold feel just by looking at it. I don't know if I was surprised, or in awe, but I find myself unable to move, my eyes wide as I stared.
Wait, is it me, or is this sword moving? It is! Slowly, but at an alarmingly increasing speed, I watched as the ridges vibrate and before I knew it a deep, crimson red enveloped what was once a deep, cold black. I could feel heat emanating from the sword. In that instance, Johann suddenly thrusts the sword into the right, breaking and digging straight into the stone-path. "Crack! Crush!" The sounds came blended together as the action lasted but a second.
"Whoa!" I cried out, feeling entering my body again. Scrambling back, I lost my balance and fell straight on my bottom. I could even feel the dust settling after being blown up top from the impact.
"Argh, now's not the time..." I could hear Johann mutter those words to himself under his breath. Releasing his blade and leaving it embedded into the ground, he walks to its side. Leaving his right hand on the edge of the hilt, he stood with strength and vigil. "I am Johann Jacopo. Knight of the Order. The Order of Lazarus!" His words was filled with a degree of power, pride and will. I was surprised. He felt like a completely different person. Knight? What, as in a knight in shining armor? From the Middle Ages?
"Zanna! Decimo!" As if I needed more confusion, another voice, a stranger, called out to me. I find myself turning in the direction of voice.
"Whoosh!" Out of the bushes, a whip appeared out of nowhere. I was dumbstruck. Was it an enemy? An ally? I was just too confused, but nonetheless, I was reaching for Fenris. As I was just about to get my grip on my Legacy Arm, however, the whip closed in on me, cutting through the air, hissing like a snake. "Snap!"
"Ow!" The pain spiked from my face, as the whip just strike me square between the eyes. Moving my hand to instinctively try to make it go away, I tumble, twist and turn on the ground, on my back from the pain. Johann stood alert, looking like he's ready to pull his sword up to meet with this unknown threat. It took me a while to recover, but as I did, I saw the whip lash back towards where it came from, zipping through the air and rustling the green bush, detaching some of the leaves from their branches.
In a few moment, after hearing a few gasps, taunts and yells that was hardly audible coming from the bushes, Johann and I just stuck there staring, in anticipation to what was gonna happen. I was still lying there on the ground after I calmed down, while Johann stood right at the same spot, his eyes showing caution and curiosity. Strangely, the two of us turn and looked at each other once before turning our sights at the bush again. At first, there was silence, then struggling. "Stop! What, you're, doing!" The voice came with stuttering words. Then, the person appeared. Wrapped tightly with the same whip that struck me, the man hopped out of the green foliage, his legs tied by the whip. Seeing as how his right hand is holding on to the stock, or the handle, I'm assuming he's the one who struck me. "Argh, darn whip!" He cried out once more.
As painful as that strike to my face was, the sight of him, pathetically stuck, tied by his own weapon, was more painful to look at. Naturally, Johann and I moved to help him out.
"Ahahaha.." The blond man gave out a really awkward laugh. Up close, he looked really suave and handsome with long, yet stylish looking blond hair, spiked at the ends, as well as having sharp looking eyes with deep brown hues. He was wearing pretty fashionably, too, with a nice looking long jacket and jeans, ending with sleek looking leather shoes. Packing his whip and cleaning the dust off his jacket, he stands and gives out his hand to me. "So sorry about that. It is definitely a pleasure to finally meet you, Zanna Decimo." He gave out his words with a soft, gentle smile.
"Um.. Hi?" I say out with uncertainty, taking his hand and responding with a formal handshake. Something was flooding my mind with unease, or maybe it's just a feeling. I feel like I've seen him before. "You're the guy from the restaurant, and the bridge!" I cried out as I came into realization. Johann just looked on with even more curiosity.
"Ah, sharp." The man commented. "I think it's about time I introduced myself. My name is Dino, Dino Chiavarone. Boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia." He casually gave out, with a smile and a wave of his hand.
"Eh?" perhaps I was worn out from what just happened, but I actually took a few seconds to digest what I just heard. "Boss?" I yell out, unable to keep my voice down. I supposed I was fortunate that we were the only ones in the park. "Chiavarone Famiglia? You're Bucking Bronco Dino!" I continued my yelling. I can't believe I didn't recognize him sooner. Dino just looked as if he's used to this sort of treatment and calmed me down.
Dino continued, telling me how the news of an underdog among the Famiglias rising in power is circulating around Italy. Taking an interest, he came to Venice to meet me and my Famiglia before going to Japan, to meet the Vongola Decimo. As Dino explained himself in a almost frighteningly calm manner, smiles and all. Johann kept pacing around. He, on the other hand, was anything but calm. Perhaps he was expecting someone, as Dino's presence seemed to make him more anxious. He would move around, or tap on the ground with his feet. Of course, he never ventures too far from his sword.
"The Boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia... This complicates things.." I barely caught what he said, but those little words was enough to catch my attention. "Will this affect the Exchange?" That was the one question he kept asking himself.
"Um, Boss Chiavarone? I just have one question, why'd ya hit me just now?" I asked, only to be replied with Dino's hesitant look. Yeah, and it wasn't something like a wake-up slap either, it really hurt!
"Dino Chiavarone, the Boss of the Chiavarone Famiglia, is a klutz without any of his Famiglia nearby." Johann suddenly stepped into our conversation, sounding knowledgeable. Dino just looked down, as if trying to hide his face. Haha, he seems really cool, for an adult.
Suddenly, a dark, grayish fog flowed into the park. A sense of chill, loneliness, despair fills the surrounding. The leaves of the trees and bushes seems to howl and whistles according to the change, the wind and gales blowing hard and strong. It was so strong I feel as though my jacket would get blown off if I didn't held on to it with all my might. As I looked, the very area we stood upon seems to twist and melt, it feels like the very reality is shifting, distorting, crying in pain. I could feel my heart beating faster with each second, as my instincts kept screaming out danger. I feel myself stretching out my hand to the sides and bending my knees, as if trying to hold my balance from the breaking world. Turning my eyes, I could see Dino and Johann doing the same.
"Wha-what's happening?" I cried out, confused and getting disoriented. The wind seemed to be blowing harder and harder.
"They're here..." Johann say out, trying to sound as calm as possible. Even with his constrained tone, I could feel the fear and anxiousness in his voice, as well as on his face. He kept his right hand clutched around the hilt of his blade. Dino said nothing, but his smile is gone.
In the midst of the breaking reality, that which I don't know if it was really happening, or maybe I just don't want to believe it, a lump of shadowy flames, similar to those of the fog, started forming. "Shh. Shh. Shh." A soft, soul-wrenching sound emanated from the core. In an instant, three figures appeared in the center. Cloaked in dark robes and shadowy hats, the figures stood, life-less. As I saw them, I felt a sharp shiver went down my spine. Their face was blank, no features, only a sea of white linen. Or at least, I think it's linen.
"Vindicare..." Dino finally spoke out after so long, the words shaking both me and Johann. I almost jumped up from where I was standing. The word sparked a memory from the depths of my mind.
"Vindice? Who are they?" I asked out as I looked at the picture. It was barely a picture, all I could see was three white spots that looked like bandages surrounded by different hues of grayish fog.
"They... are the law of the Mafia. Wardens to the Vindicare Prison, they judge those which cannot be forgiven, and punish those which cannot be forgotten. They are the shadows of justice, enforcing it with an iron fist." Even as Kiera explains, I can feel reluctance in her voice, like she was wary, maybe even afraid.
"Never, ever defy them. Their word is law."
"Gulp." That was a picture of them! I thought there was a printing error! "Vindice..." I mutter to myself, I could feel goosebumps forming around my body. I brushed it off as just a warning, but now I understand what Kiera was really trying to tell me. Only one question remains, constantly shouting in my mind...
Just... what are they doing here?
Oh boy, what's gonna happen now? Was it a surprise? Was it unexpected? The law of the Mafia has stepped into the story, and Amato is about to get dragged into it. Get ready for some crazy stuff in the upcoming chapters!