Author's Note:

Recently, I've been looking back at the story, and I realized it's been a while since Amato's life was at risk. Wondering if the heavy responsibilities of being a Mafia boss seems non-existent in the current chapters, I'm now trying to add in more battle scenes into the chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter 42: Reclamation Complete!

Under the shadow of night, we moved. The sky was cloudless. I went from crate to crate, my hands gripped firmly on the cold metal as I tried my best to stay out of sight. A cold, gray fog encompassed the area, while the smell of the sea kept running into my nose. I made sure my steps were silent, trying my best to not follow the image of a ninja tiptoeing that had formed in my mind. Strange as it was, I was alone. It was all part of our plan. My eyes darted all over the place in order to home in on the target.

Fenris chilling in my hand, the situation only made the cold that much worse.

"Clang! Crank! Kachink!"

There he is! Amidst the gray, lifeless crates that blended into the background, sparks flew as the familiar figure came into my sight. The sound of metal hitting metal, slamming into flesh, could be heard. Sergio walks into the scene alone, the length of chains in his hand. His grip on the chains, he struck down all the men who charged at him with ease, sniping at their vitals with unbelievable precision. Wow, he got that strong in three months? I was left impressed, and a bit freaked out.

"What's with this kid? Why didn't we hear anything about this?" One of the thugs that were stalking around flustered as pulled out his pistol, only to have it smashed right out of his hand a second later.

"Why haven't we heard anything from the scouts?" Another man cried out, as he was pulled by the neck, suffocating because of the chains. Dragged on, he was thrown into a pile of boxes with a crash.

Sergio walked on, step by step, calm as he swung his chains. They were wrapped around his torso, and as he fought, he kept a serious, silent demeanor. Not one bead of sweat formed on his forehead as he fended off the groups assaulting him. I watched on in the shadows, continuing what I was supposed to do. My role for that mission was support.

Suddenly, a shadow moved from above one of the huge, metal crates in the distance. The figure caught sight of Sergio as he entered the area, and the sound of motor and machine filled the scene. The next moment came with a shower of bullets. The shots were loud, I could barely hear anything else. Frantic, I turned to see Sergio running and jumping from side to side, doing his best to dodge the shots. It didn't look like it was working so well, but even through that, he tried his best to stay calm and composed.

When I saw a few men trying to ambush Sergio from behind while he was distracted, that was when I made my move.

"Fenris!"

I roared out mid-way in my dash towards Sergio, and as the force rend the wind like claws sharpening into the surroundings, I pounced on those thugs. My pendant flashed in a spark of bright light, the word FANG appearing from the heirloom's swirling center. My legs shooting out, I aimed for their vitals, knocking the weapons out of their hands. In enhanced state, they moved so slow it was almost pitiful. But soon, the storm of bullets and metal caught me in as well.

"Amato!" Sergio cried out, perhaps the only word he could squeeze out with his eyes locked on the chain-guns raining bullets down on us, which had since multiplied to three.

"You look like you needed help." I gave my reply, raising Fenris up towards those above us, trying my best to blow them up and stop the bullets.

Soon, it was just us, the three men and their chain-guns. The bullets sprayed all over the place, grazing and cutting into my face, my elbow and my shin. Because of the frantic dodging, it was difficult to get a shot at them, even in my Awakening. My body got heavier by the second, my own movements getting dull, slowing down. My ears had been deaf for a while now, all I could follow was the sparks and flames from the guns, flaring in the darkness of night. Sergio's chains could only knock away so many shots, and when he fell down to the ground, shot in the leg, I really thought it was over.

The next second passed, and silence had filled the scene. I turn around, frantic to know just what had happened, and a metal chain-gun, torn and smashed, crashed in front of us. Our savior dropped down from the crates a while later. His dark blue hair shadowing his face, Dante paced towards us with his sniper rifle in hand. He gave a final scan of the surroundings before offering a hand to help Sergio up.

"Ngh.. I'm fine!" He responded with rather hostile tone, slapping away Dante's hand. Grunting, he struggled as he forced his body to stand, all while glaring at Dante. "Tch...You're the back-up I asked for?" Sergio grumbled to himself, obviously annoyed, before limping his way toward the harbor-master's office.

Moments later, the three of us emerged through the door. I stood in the middle as Sergio walked by my right, and Dante, my left. They haven't even looked at each other ever since Dante appeared to save us. Worried as I was, I couldn't bring myself to talk to them, to get them to accept each other. Sergio's stubbornness was often his strongest point, I never had much success talking him out of anything he believed in. The three of us left the Docks after we made sure the thugs were drove out completely.

"All right, Docks secured, mission complete." I announced to the two of them as we walked past the gates...

"Hey, hey Amato!" Johann bounced into the room, his voice loud and cheerful. My eyes found themselves on the Blondie, the troubles he had seemed almost like it never happened. Light shining into the room, I sat in the sofa, back in the mansion, with Kiera facing me on the opposite side. She stood with a whiteboard pushed into the living room. Aria sat a few seats away, listening attentively to the discussion we were having, her blouse in a deep blue today. Her orange ribbons was nicely off-set by the color of her lush hair. A few of my men stood behind us, a faint look of anticipation in their eyes. It was a noisy, bustling day in the mansion.

"Oh man, they're having this all-you-can-eat-contests in Japan right now! How I wish we could go there for a visit!" Johann's voice seemed to rang across the whole mansion as he jumped to my side of the sofa, rolling around like a child.

"Calm down, we'll talk about this later.." I gave him my promise so that he could calm down. It didn't work very well, but he managed to bounce upright, taking a seat at my side, keeping himself quiet.

"All right, as of right now, I'm happy to announce the complete reclamation of the City of Venice!" Kiera proclaimed in a proud manner, still keeping her cool. Though, I could feel the slight tinge of excitement in her voice. The diagram drawn on the board, complicated as it was, ended as a highly-detailed sketch of the City. The areas were lit-up, representing the parts of the city that were reclaimed through the past six months.

"Yeah! Woo hoo!"

A wave of cheers burst forth from my men, some of them even jumping into the air, throwing their fists up high. The feeling was so contagious, I began to smile involuntarily. A smile appeared on Aria's face as well, cheerful and happy for our success. Soon, the cheers were resonating throughout the mansion.

"Now we need to discuss what to do next, to propel the Famiglia forward." Her voice continued on, her words like a ray of light, signaling a new age for my Famiglia. As her eyes landed on Johann, however, she spoke out something I didn't expect. "Well, I guess we could initiate that a few weeks later, you deserve the rest." Her words calm and gentle as she began to push the board away.

"With our involvement with the Vongola, it may already be happening, with or without our control..." She continued, her tone making me wonder whether that's a good thing or a bad thing.

"Kiera, I.." The words stopped halfway, but I pushed them out of my mouth. "I need to tell you something.." I called out to her as my hand landed on her left shoulder, the images, the memory of the dream I had flashing into my mind. Though blushing, she took a seat on the sofa and began listening.

I explained to her, in detail, of what I had been seeing in my sleep. The images, the feeling had been carved into my mind as the dream kept appearing, night after night. Sometimes, I would forget all about it by morning, but the main points remained, as well as the question. The girl, the beast, and the jewel of power. The light shining forth from the stone felt so familiar, as if I've seen it before. Just what was my connection with them? After the second week of dreams, I was convinced it was more than what it seems.

After seeing her face for the tenth time, I couldn't help but feel worried about her. A deep feeling formed within me, a conviction to help her. At my explanation, Kiera's eyes widened with surprise, a look that had become a rare sight these days. She listened with concern, her attention at the utmost peak as she sought out my every word, and when I ended, she left the room in a hurry without a single word.

"Um.. Aria.. what just happened?" Asking out the question in my mind was the only thing I could do. By this time, Johann had already wandered off elsewhere into the mansion.

"I'm sure there's reason behind her actions." Aria replied calmly, picking up her cup of tea and sipping it.

A few minutes later, Kiera trotted back, her steps light and soft, the frills on her maid outfit bouncing as she moved, a sweat to her brow. Catching her breath, I saw a small smile on her face before she herself wiped it off, returning to her usual, reserved self. Stroking her fringe behind her ear as if she was nervous, it made me wonder what could excite Kiera so much. In her hands was a thick, ancient tome. Its cover leather, the pages were stained by age and torn by time. Without even taking a seat, the words that came out of her surprised me even more.

"We'll need to have you take some time off from school..." She spoke out calmly, the excitement that was over her a few moments ago all but disappeared. Looking around, Sergio and the others had already entered the room, gathered upon Kiera's request. Even Johann, a surprise because he technically wasn't a part of the Famiglia.

"What? What do you mean take some time off from school?" I yelled out at this sudden decision, eyebrows raised.

With a smirk, Kiera gave out the order for the next mission, what we were going do next.

"We're going to Japan!"

The arc is progressing quite nicely! Before even raising his hands in celebration, Amato is given a new mission, one that takes him out of his City, and even out of Italy itself! Are you guys as excited as I am? Keep a lookout for the next chapter update!