Author's Note:
Yes! It's been so long since the idea of the Zanna Famiglia visiting Japan came into my mind! I'm so glad I managed to continue the story to this stage! Well, there will be one more chapter before the visit officially starts! I hope to squeeze in some character development as well, enjoy!
Chapter 43: The Path To The Right Hand
A Sacred Code.
Hands on the balcony, the wind of the sea blowing through my hair, I was slightly tired from what I did, but I never felt more gratified. Each day, I was glad to be able to help Amato anyway I could. As soon as the bell in school rang, my legs took me to the front doors of the Zanna mansion. Looking down to the streets from where I was standing, I remembered the time I used to step onto the ceramic floor whenever the Boss himself felt a bit too lonely. These few days, my work is a bit different, but the feeling remained the same. Catching the sound of footsteps and a glance of blond hair, I turn back into the house with a smile.
"Sergio, I need you to make sure we have everything we need packed up, and remind the others as well." Kiera, the graceful caretaker of Amato, barely even stopped her steps as she gave me the order. Her golden bangs shining, I couldn't help but chuckle at her words.
"Just what is so amusing?" The Valkyrie asked out sternly, a sharp look to her eyes.
"Ha ha! I just... remembered when you first started training me..." I said out laughing as the memory rushed into my mind. "You had a difficult time calling me by my first name.." I continued. It was true, Kiera was extremely polite, even when she gave me instructions and routines, she only addressed me by 'Mister Endoh'. It felt out of place, especially coming from a girl who's older than me, but it wasn't something I could fault her for. At most, I was impressed by her courtesy.
Turning away at my words, I couldn't quite catch her face, but I suspected that it wouldn't have been an angry one. Readying myself after a deep breath, I waved goodbye as my steps rumbled down the stairs. As I reached the grand hall, leading towards the main doors, my eyes went on to scan the very walls itself, the majesty of it all still so astounding, sometimes it was difficult to move away from the spot and get on with my work. Gently nudging the huge doors open, I was surprised to see someone just about to do the same.
"Hi, Sergio!" The voice was so recognizable, it perked me right up, her lush hair and green eyes ever so familiar. Regina stood at the doorway, a hopeful smile on her face.
"Hey, Regina." I replied, as was the polite thing to do. Even before my words ended, her eyes were already peeking around, her head dodging behind me and to the side. Excitement coming over her, she only moved quicker as the seconds passed. Finally, she stopped and calmed herself after realizing that the one she was looking for wasn't in the house.
"Looking for Amato?" I gave it out with a smile after assessing the situation. Unexpectedly, Regina flustered at my words, her face dyed in a tint of red. Never would she acted the way she did should I had given out another name, but that only made me that much more happy for her. "He's still at school, project work, I think." I did my best to keep the conversation going after seeing her clam up.
"Um.. so when will he be back?" Regina asked out with a sudden soft tone, flicking her hair as if trying to distract herself from her nervousness. "You guys are leaving today, right?" Her words continued, her eyes falling slightly as she did.
"He should be back any moment now." As I declared, I put my hand over my eyes to block the afternoon glare, and looked on as if trying to search for him in the streets. "So..." Churning out the words slowly after Regina's calmed down a bit, I asked her the thought that had been nagging in my mind. "How's the new job? Is it difficult, the staff aren't bullying you, are they?" The concern blew out of proportion before I knew it, my voice becoming increasingly louder with each word.
Stepping towards the street, Regina's smile remained on her face as she gave me her reply. "I'm fine! It's a bit difficult, but I'm learning the ropes! Please don't do anything to the other staff members." The idol of the school joked at my expression from before. Was I really that threatening? The concern was to be expected, though. After so many years as friends, I had come to see Regina like a sister.
"You'll take care of him, right Sergio?" As we reached the gates, a sullen look appeared on her face as she spoke the words. Even without any hints, I knew she was referring to Amato.
"Yeah, by my code." I gave her the promise with a smile before we parted ways, Regina's worry strengthening my resolve.
Through the streets I went, my steps slowly turning brisk. As I did, my eyes caught sight of a crowd clamoring over a particular restaurant in the shopping district. Distracted by the fact that most of the people in the crowd were teenagers, I couldn't help but push my way through to at least see what was happening. The stone-path streets quickly morphed into fancy rugs, as color, a little too bright for my own tastes, stung my eyes from the walls. It seemed another chain of restaurants were introduced to Venice when the New Years passed by.
"Sigh..." The sound was blurted out without my control. Frankly, I never liked these restaurants, but the jarring colors made it that much more difficult to stay in the restaurant. Although, I can understand why some people might like it there. The teens around Venice are always attracted to new sights. "Man, Amato must be getting to me.." I whined to myself as the realization of how old I sounded came to me.
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" The chant was loud, the words booming in my mind. Into the restaurant brought me to a table with only one person in the seats. His blond hair swaying with each mug coming to his mouth, the number of glass mugs on the tables exploded within a few seconds later. The eyes of the crowd only got wider as the excitement grew. I, myself, stood there staring with utter disbelief as Johann gulped down chocolate milk, mug after mug. Five mugs after I started watching however, his movements never lost their speed.
After the three hundredth mug however, the crowd had dissipated. I was the only one still watching as Johann's face fell on the table. Looking around, I was somewhat annoyed by the expected behavior of the public. When the excitement was gone, nobody even bothered to help him up. Not even the staff of the restaurant.
"Johann? Johann!" I called out to his name, nudging him on his shoulders, but to no avail. "Sigh... What should I do now?" As I stood confused, it felt like the two of us just turned invisible in front of the public.
My steps continued, and before long, I already entered the airport. The rays of the sun were cast over my whole body, warming me up, the glaring light making me wince. As I traversed past the numerous passenger and cargo planes, the scene soon cleared up to an empty airstrip on a huge,concrete field. The airstrip is said to be used privately by the Zanna Famiglia, carefully concealed from the public. Each of my steps were heavier than before, however, courtesy of the guy hanging from my back.
"Oh, a giant popsicle, awesome!" Johann started screaming out, eyes closed, tongue sticking out from whatever dream he was having.
"No, no, don't you lick me, Johann!" I yelled out as I turned to see his face, still half-asleep. The feeling of heavy shoulders disappeared as the randomness of the situation overwhelmed me. Just what was he dreaming about?
"Huh?" Finally, Johann's eyes slowly rose from their previously droopy state, his golden hair flying with a breath of wind. Looking around, he did his best to recover himself as I continued towards my destination. It took him a few minutes to actually realize I was carrying him in a piggyback. "Sergio? Huh, when did I get on your back?" Johann asked out, as was the expected reaction.
"Try recalling..." I replied, focusing more on the walk. Pushing myself, I had forgotten all about letting Johann down.
"Oh right, I was at the restaurant, they were having the challenge of chugging down one hundred mugs of chocolate milk. You get past the one hundredth cup and their all free... but.." Johann's words flew out faster than I could follow when he collected himself. Even as he did, he never did ask to get off my back. It was kinda annoying, but I never scolded him because of it.
"That's the reason why you were forcing the drinks down your throat so quickly?" I exclaimed, hardly believing what I heard. His actions and reason lacked sense, and they seemed random, like something out of a cartoon. Did he really did all that just so he could have some free drinks? Was the lack of price worth fainting over? "You said when you went past the hundredth cup, but you reached three hundred!" The thought only seemed more random when I spoke of it.
"Ha ha, I just wanted to have a few more." Casually, the reason that didn't have much sense were given out. Johann looked towards the skies, the sun, before giving out a deep breath.
Just hearing his voice, I came to a feel of understanding. As the area where I was walking to came into sights, the questions in my mind didn't feel like problems anymore. He just love to drink chocolate milk. That was the reason formed in my head. I didn't ask him how random or stupid it was because it truly felt like it was that simple. That he's just acting how he is, and I couldn't fault him for that.
"Sergio... Thanks."
The sudden gratitude came out of nowhere, so surprising was it that my head even looked back to see if it really came from Johann. "Well, you could've just left me there when I fainted, as was the normal thing to do." Johann explained, but all he got back from those words were my confused face. What is he rambling on about? How could I have left him alone like that? "Hah, sometimes, the world can be a whole lot more cruel than you expect." He told me as he saw my face, before jumping off my back and jogging on ahead. I was left wondering as I watched his back. Just who is he?
Reaching the destination, Aria's white jet stood in its proud stature. Sleek in its design, it would be the transportation we need to Japan. A few steps further in, I could see Dante, Vito and Aria already there. The question of whether Aria herself flew it here still lingered in my mind as I approached it.
"All right, that's all of it." I declared, carefully putting down the last crate that was to be packed onto the plane. Kiera made it sure we had everything we need, medical supplies, weapons, ammo, clothes as well as our everyday utensils. Despite the small look of the plane from the outside, the interior was wide and spacious, bright and clean, giving off the sterile similar to hospitals. Everything looked professionally maintained, the design looking more like a base than just a regular plane. Multiple compartments aboard, there was a slew of different rooms, from a meeting room to an on-board shooting range.
"Oh look, it's the greenhorn." The voice carried with it the usual sarcastic tone. Looking up, I saw two of the more stronger members of the Zanna Famiglia. Sitting atop one of the larger crates, The Angel of Life sat crossed-legged, his back hunched over in an extremely relaxed pose. In his hands was the usual combat dagger, another set of them running down his attire behind his jacket. By his side, Dante stepped into the room, his rifle in hand as always.
"...What is it now, Vito?" I retorted, slightly annoyed. Vito had always been the the one with the witty, cynical tongue, but most of the things he declared are actually the truth. Even when I stood up speaking to him, it felt difficult to maintain eye contact. The urge to just ignore him and walk away kept springing up within me. Every once in a while, my eyes shift to Dante, as if wary of his movements. Dante's eyes looked out out the window as he leaned against the walls at the side, as if his mind was unfocused. It brought forth many doubts in my mind.
"You seem capable enough, I only have one thing to ask of you..." Vito continued, as laid back as ever. Tracing his fingers against the blade of his dagger, he seemed to be trying his best to distract himself. " … You need to learn to be strong, to know pain and cruelty." At those words, his lazy eyes pierced into my soul with sharp glare. "The Boss has enough naivety for the rest of us."
"Don't talk that way about Amato!" Before I knew it, I burst out yelling after hearing his insults. I had seen Amato doing his best to protect him, so why is he saying things like this?
"Right now, you're just not strong enough." Those were his last words before he slipped out of the room with a snicker.
"You okay?" I must have been too clouded with thoughts to miss the sound of his steps, as Dante asks out in his calm, serious tone. As he did, he placed his right hand on my shoulders, only to have me pull away from his grasp. At that sight, his eyebrows furrow with anger, taking a step back.
"Look, you may have convinced Amato, but I still remembered what you did, what you tried to do..." Anger coming to me from the memories, I realized I had taken a stance involuntarily as I spoke my mind. Surprised, it took a while to calm myself down. "I'm keeping my eyes on you.." The warning came right after.
"I don't care about what you think about me, but do not jeopardize the missions." Dante replied back to me after hearing what I said, even when he did, he showed no reaction. His face was still calm, tinged with a tiny hint of anger. Immediately, I felt a sharp sense of fear, a claw crushing on my heart. His words felt like a threat. Fear and anger taking its toll, I quickly went out of the room and out of the plane itself.
"Sigh..." There was little I could do as the sunlight shine onto my eyes once more. Confusion had settled within me. Am I doing the right thing, pushing my suspicions on him like that? "Tsk. Am I still not strong enough?" I ask myself as I remembered the fear and anxiousness I felt, as Vito and Johann's words resonated at the back of my mind. As the soft, glaring light stretched across the empty field, I couldn't help but think back on what I had been doing the past few months. Training alone when Christmas drew near, following strictly to Kiera's routines whenever I could, was it all for naught? Compared to the others in battle, I didn't feel any change at all.
"You're on your way." Her voice came outta nowhere, calm, gentle, soothing. Turning around, my eyes met with the Boss of the Arcobaleno, the most powerful fortune-teller the world has to offer herself. "The knowledge of pain and cruelty will come with experience." She continued, a warm smile stretching across her face.
"So you're a mind reader now, Aria?" I retorted at the fact that those were the exact issues in my mind. Aria scratched her head as an embarrassed look appeared on her face. Still, her words had their own brand of magic, as it seemed to have driven away the wave of depression and doubt.
"Here, uncle Reborn sent this to me after I told him of the Zanna Famiglia." Aria went on, walking to my side. Wondering what it was, she tosses from her hands a small, metallic object that glistened in the light of the sun. Catching it in mid flight with my right hand, it turned out to be a crimson bullet. A small mark of a flame could be seen sculpted into the metal of the bullet itself. "He asked me to give it to you, specifically." Her words continued as I stared and wondered about my unexpected gift.
"What is it?" A question came out of my mouth that sounded a lot more stupid than I expected. Of course, I knew it was a bullet, but it couldn't have been just a bullet, there had to be something more to it.
"Think of it as a good luck charm. Uncle Reborn says he's interested to see what you do with it." Quick on her feet, Aria finished her sentence before leaving my side dancing.
Raising it up to the skies, the bullet gave me a small sense of assurance. The metallic red as well as the symbol of the flame at its side brought forth many questions. I wanted to think that I held a new power in the palm of my hand. Laughing the feeling off, the fact that I felt that way must mean that the charm's doing its job. With the piece of metal in hand, a strange affinity can be felt resonating within the bullet itself. Looking out to the empty, almost serene feel of the concrete airstrip, I grabbed on to the bullet tightly in my hand.
"Whoa, that's your plane, Aria?" Amato's voice snapped me back. Acting as a signal, I began making my way towards him. Together, we boarded the plane amidst Amato's cries of surprise. A few moments later, the plane started its flight with the roar of its engines, and before we knew it, we were soaring through the skies, towards my the land of my ancestors.
In my heart, I held on to the belief to keep on progressing my strength, to learn all there is to learn. Each milestone reached, a dozen more appeared, as I continued walking on the path to the right hand.
Strange, with each new chapter, my word count gets higher and higher. I think I may have squeezed too much into this one chapter alone. The main goal was to give you all a feel on how Sergio's doing, his relationship with the rest of the Famiglia. As you can see, it isn't all that friendly with a few of them. Well, I can't wait for the next chapter already! Please, praise, comment or criticize my chapter!