Author's Note:
Oh yeah, action finally kicks in! Ha ha, now that I think about it, a story where the main character becomes the damsel in distress is certainly a rarity! In this crisis, I hope to show just how the Zanna Famiglia will react and work together to save Amato!
Chapter 48: In Pursuit Of The Beloved.
A Sacred Code.
With a quick move, my phone was slipped into my pocket with my right hand just as a dark robe striped with deep blue fluttered a few inches before me. Everything else around me was chaotic, the throbbing of my heart and the absolute focus I was having blocked out all other sights and sounds. It was strange, as if time slowed down just as my left arm reached out for the object of my focus. Nothing else really mattered, except to lay my hands on that piece of cloth. The only objective was to save him! That tiny light of hope flashing was the only thing distracting me from the pang of guilt chewing on my heart.
But, the light was quickly extinguished as soon as it appeared, when my hand swiped at my front, the floating end of the robe was pulled away from me, vanishing in a violent shake and only leaving its afterimage behind. That display of speed made realize just how skilled these new enemies are. Failing to grab a hold of the figure before me only caused me to lose my balance, forcing me to stop in my steps to recollect myself.
Frantic, everything flew back into me, including my duties as part of the Zanna Famiglia. The warmth of the sun beat down on my skin, and the chatter of people in the streets slowly rang into my ears. At that moment when I stopped, the urge to turn came over me, and I looked to my back to check on the others, even when it meant I might have a slight chance of losing sight of the kidnappers.
"Kuh!" Unconsciously, I gave out the word as Johann and the others came into sight, irritated by the failure that happened just a second ago. Johann, Aria and Hinata, though struggled at the start to keep up with the chase, quickly caught up with me. Though surprising, Hinata moved with speed and agility similar to Johann's and mine, perhaps even quicker. Faced with the ongoing crisis, the issue never lingers in my mind. None of us could say anything, and the light in our eyes only spelled out the worry we felt. Dammit, how could I have allowed this to happen? With the only distraction gone, it was difficult to push back the blame that kept screaming out in my mind.
"Darn it, where the heck did they go?" My tone was filled with panic, any effort to conceal what I was feeling and remain calm in the emergency went to naught. Indeed, it was as I feared, that one second gambled away to check on the welfare of the others was all they needed to lose our eyes, our sight on them. When my eyes darted from one end of the district to another, all I saw was a plain street in Akihabara, filled with people whose empty faces laugh and chatted on about their lives, making Amato's kidnapping feel like it was nothing more than a day-dream.
Regret, guilt, fear and despair. Each of these emotions manifested in my mind as everything the hooded figures seemed to completely went out of our sights, having seemingly blended into the crowds with little to no effort at all. No matter how much I didn't want to admit it, I couldn't help but think of the consequences of this situation if Amato was never found, the product of my own incompetence. Just what would those thugs do to him? My chain of thoughts spiraling down, the images of what happened in the restaurant begin playing in the depths of my mind.
It was one dangerous situation that allowed the other to occur with little attention. Amato just recovered from his choking, a courtesy of the carelessness from one of the many cooks in the kitchen, slamming down the bottle of water, which was white and strangely, made of porcelain. The competition was forgotten, as the rest of us stood up and tried to comfort Amato, who looked extremely exhausted from the struggle before. Paying no heed to the door, we only realized the kidnappers' arrival when we heard the fearful mumbling and frightened whispers of the other customers in the restaurant.
The shadowy group approached us, their presence completely concealed, it was unlike anything I had ever encountered before. Skulking like a group of reapers coming to collect the soul, one would feel nothing until a weapon is plunged into their neck. Perhaps it was their speed, or we were just careless, but we only saw them when they floated past us, making their way towards Amato.
The group faced with no resistance as they took their steps. In fact, a good many people fled at the sight of them, and many others were left stricken with a regretful fear in their eyes.
"Hey, what are you doing?" My words was the first in a while, my hand grabbing a hold of one of the cloaked figures as he suddenly appeared before our table, in front of of my best friend.
Everything happened in a blur, which was probably why my guard had not been raised. That was my mistake, as my fingers touched his shoulders, a blade presented itself from under the robes, and the cold steel, with its sharpened edge cut sliced the shoulder of the arm I raised. Dazed for a second, the attack barely gave off any feeling at all, and I only snapped back as the intense fire burned my wound. And then I fell to my knees, realizing the danger of the situation as I looked towards the enemies with a sharp glare.
"Sergio!" Johann and the others shook at the sight of my wound, as I clutched on instinctively to prevent myself from losing blood.
"Don't worry about me, protect Amato!" I ordered the others, and at my words, Johann jumped in front of them, blocking the way between them and their target. That was when my vision fell, shaken by a push from my sides. I think they had me tossed away to the corner so I would not give them any trouble. The last thing I saw before my back collided with the wall was a giant scythe pulled at Johann's neck, and cringed at the sight.
When I came to from being stunned, the group was gone, slipped out the window along with our Boss, the Boss of the Zanna Famiglia. Johann, Aria and Hinata surrounded me with worry and panic in their thoughts. It was such a fear-ridden moment for us all, we were left with no lead, no direction, no idea on what we should do. Supporting myself on the table, my eyes caught sight of the bottle the cooks served for Amato, its white gleam piquing my curiosity. A whiff was all I needed to realize what it was.
"This is sake! Why the heck were you guys serving an alcoholic drink?" With frustration slowly overcoming me, I roared out in anger, gritting hard on my teeth.
When the staff told of how they were threatened into performing the task, I had no idea whether they deserved the bulk of my anger and frustration or not. The second my legs could move and the rest of us calmed down the best we could, we darted straight for the door, and gave chase as soon as the dark robes with blue stripes came into sight. At that moment, the promise I gave to Kiera this morning flashed through my mind, serving to push energy to my legs and my steps. No way was I going to let them pick off my best friend just like that!
"There they are!" Johann's voice pulled me back from the depths of my memory, his sharp eyes catching sight of the group heading out of the main streets of the district. Immediately, we moved, sprinting towards them as fast as we could. Our outburst on the streets seemed to attract almost all the attention of the crowds, as they chatter and mumble with curious eyes about what we were doing. Ignoring the crowd, our steps tapped through past all of them as the desire the save Amato grew by the second.
"Hhhrrraaaggghhh!" My emotions got the best of me, as I pushed myself even faster to close the distance, roaring out in both despair and hope. It felt like nothing was more important than pulling their heinous grip off of my friend. My body, my injury, my own safety, even my life nothing else were more important. As the soles of my feet cracked in pain with each step, I pulled out my chains, wrapping them around my arms as I charged. In the sea of chaos, I think I felt what it meant to go berserk, with my chains tightened around my arms. My skin felt like they could be torn off as I leaped against the mysterious group.
"Crack!" a loud sound was given out by the bones in my fist, in a similar vanishing as before, my target in front of me slipped out of existence, the chain and strength striking the concrete road instead. In my mind, my fist had all but shattered into pieces, the pain immediately shooting forth, so much that my right arm trembled in its attempt to maintain control. Wetness could be felt on my skin right after. Did blood burst out from the impact?
Wincing at the sudden pain, I looked up to see one of the hooded figures, whose size was a bit tinier than the rest, making a sharp turn to face me, throwing towards me a side thrust kick as I laid stunned, my body locked to the ground. The feet struck my chest to my surprise, instead of my head, and the impact In the first few seconds crushed into my muscles, my ribs creaked at the verge of breaking.
"Sergio!" My friends yelled out my name in worry, even as the pain coursed through my body.
"Gragh!" I yelled out the pain as the full force overcomes my body, strong enough to send me flying back a few feet. The strength and technique of the powerful move immediately told me that these people shrouded in the shadows of their cloaks, were trained martial artists, at least, the tiny one who kicked me was. As I crashed into a wall, it was Johann's turn, as he boosted himself towards the main group who had Amato in hand, ignoring the short one that struck me.
Another one splits from their group, turning to take on Johann. With blazing speed, Johann twists his whole body in a single, fluid motion and using that momentum to force as much weight as he could into my fist before bringing it down. The figure, with deft movements and a swing of the robes, easily dodged back to avoid the strike, and threw her elbow towards Johann only to be met by his serious glare and a small, playful grin. His jersey pulled to the side as he dodges the blow by slipping to the sides at a speed so fast my eyes could barely follow, and in a swift motion, did a somersault over the figure using her own elbow for support, holding on and pulling her wrist back, locking her position.
Raising his leg, Johann pierced his heel into the enemy's knee joint, and as he crouched in pain, his movements dulled by what seemed like surprise and disbelief, before throwing his own elbow and striking the figure right at the back, pushing it into the flesh like a sword. The sight was executed with speed and accuracy, as if it came straight out of an action scene from a movie. When the the one who kicked me seemed to fluster at what happened, immediately trying to rush towards Johann, I threw my chains and had them lock him by his left arm.
"Oh no, you're not going anywhere!" My warning was yelled out, a bit of confidence returning to me after seeing Johann's technique. Aria and Hinata caught up with us, but they never engage in combat, and frankly, I didn't want them to, considering how combat isn't Aria strong point and we couldn't risk the life of our new friend. At least, I know Amato would never allow it.
Apparently, our actions caught the attention of the other three who had Amato in their hands, stopping them in their tracks. They took one second, almost as if they stopped to show concern for their partners, before they darted off once more.
"H-Hey, come back here!" Johann cried out as they bolted off, with a panicking look on his face.
"Johann, look out!" Hinata's voice shouted out the warning, a desperate tone to her words, a fearful look in her eyes.
Out of sudden urge, I turned to glance in Johann's direction, the figure that struggled by his feet suddenly reached out for him just as he started to sprint for Amato once more, a pair of gauntlets were pushed out from under the robes. Metallic armaments over each arm, dyed in crimson red and gold linings, they differed from the usual design of gauntlets as three sharp steel blades, turning the weapon itself a very feared manifestation of claws from the birds of prey.
His speed exploded, the thrust way faster than before, as he aimed to pierce the claw into Johann's torso. I watched as Johann tried his best to dodge it by jumping to the side, but unfortunately, it was too big of a surprise, and the attack came way too quickly.
"Gah! Yargh!" Johann fell, twisting and turning around on the ground as his right shoulder was grazed, the skin torn and the edges of his clothes dying itself red as his arms desperately clutches the wound as if trying to reduce the pain. Even from where I was, his wound, the flesh in deep red exposed to the air, could be seen with great clarity. The sight itself was horrendous to watch, and the guilt inside my heart only grew as another friend was hurt.
Dammit! At this rate we're all going to get killed! As I pushed myself up with that thought in mind, the tiny one charged against me, a pair of daggers appearing from under the robes. The daggers glistened under the light of the day, their design beautifully crafted in simple, Japanese style. I knew what they were the moment I laid eyes on the weapons. Fabled in stories of assassins from the land of the rising sun, these kunai daggers were the favored tools for ninjas, which were said to be warriors without peer. The daggers could be used both for melee combat and as a projectile, explaining their popularity as weapons even after the ninja clans whittled down.
"Clank! Crink! Ka-shink!"
With the the tiny one and myself locked by our left arm, she engages me with a series of precise and explosive slashes, swinging in arcs so quickly my eyes could barely perceive the attacks. Struggling to keep sight of the trajectory of the swings, I barely managed to avoid getting slashed by deflecting the attacks with my chains, using them wrapped around my arms as shields against the incoming weapons. My only worry was that my chains would give out, get sliced up by her fierce slashes, as hard to believe as that was.
"Huff... Puff..." Each clash of weapons between us sent shock-waves through my whole body, leaving my arms numb and dulled, as opposed to the hooded midget's wide swings, which never seemed to slow down or lessen in strength. Who the heck is behind that hood? If anything, his size and his strength definitely does not match up! As the blows were exchanged, I could find no openings, and the other three figures were slowly disappearing into the crowds. Argh, come on, I need to defeat this person, whoever he is!
Throb.
Suddenly, a pounding against my chest, so forceful that I lost control of my legs, falling down to my knees once more. For some reason, my vision began to waver, all thoughts started phasing out of my mind. I was surprised I wasn't slashed down there and then, but when I shifted my vision, all I saw was the shadow of the hood covering the tiny one's head, just staring at me. Another painful throb, and I turn to the sides, my hearing now distorted, I saw Johann now standing up, ready to face his hooded enemy unarmed, and I also caught sight of Aria and Hinata worried for the two of us, a strange, uncertain look in the light of Hinata's eyes.
"Augh!" I cried out in pain as blood was coughed out of me, my body wrecked by weakness as it happened. The ringing of my chains was the only sound I could clearly hear, their cold surface the only thing I felt at the time. When I gaze upon the enemy once more, he pounced, breaking out of the stillness from a few seconds before. Am I going to die here? Darn it, was all my training for naught? Every time I think I had gotten stronger, another mistake is made. Dazed in my own thoughts, nevertheless, I never closed my eyes as the twin daggers were coming for me, aiming to drive themselves into my flesh.
But the strike never reached my body, the daggers never reached its mark.
Out of nowhere, a hand had stopped my enemy dead in its tracks. The hooded figure struggled, twisting and pulling but to no avail, the grip was simply too powerful.
"Ka-shink!"
When the other hand swung the dagger around in an attempt to break free, it struck another piece of metal, the sound resonating out to the surroundings. When my senses slowly returned, I realized the streets, once crowded with people, is now empty, disregarding the fact that it was only in the afternoon. My vision sharpening, black combat boots first came into view, then a combat dagger met with the hooded midget's kunai, finally stopping at Vito's slightly disappointed face, complete with his head shaking from side to side.
"Hm, getting yourself beat up like this... I guess I expected too much, greenhorn." His usual sarcastic remark, though extremely annoying, was a relief to hear, as with his presence meant another thing.
Desperate, I forcibly looked towards Johann, and a smile stretched across my face. Dante stood there between the crimson claws, pressing back and pressuring the enemy with his rifle. Though his weapon was no wider than two inches, I could see Johann's opponent locked in his movements, not being able to move or even pull back the gauntlets. All the while, he has to suffer the murderous intent practically exploding forth from Dante. Unlike his time as assassin, he has no need to conceal his presence now. Kiera made her way towards Johann and helped him up, supporting him as they grouped up with Aria and Hinata. When Johann's taken care of, she raised her shield against the one with the gauntlets, leaping forth to smash into him, forcing the figure to jump backwards to create distance between him and Kiera's weapon.
"Dante, go after them, track down their position!" Kiera roared out the order, her calm demeanor slowly but surely, diminishing into despair. Immediately, Dante leaped towards where the group had went as her words end, the enemy now facing the Valkyrie. When her eyes darted my way, I could not bring myself to face her, and turned to the side, looking down in shame. I broke the promise, and now our Boss's life is in danger. She has every right to be angry, to blame me for it.
"Let's go, Vito. They need to learn the consequences for such foolish actions, that the Zanna Famiglia is not to be trifled with!" She declared as she raises her giant, ornate shield, showing a side of her personality I had never seen before, sending a shiver down my spine. I stumbled up to my feet as the wrath of the Valkyrie was unleashed before my eyes.
Oh my, the words just kept churning out! Hm, I feel like I'm losing my touch with emotions, Sergio's feelings are not particularly portrayed well enough in this chapter, What do you guys think? Each effort to save Amato failed, and now Sergio has to face the rest of the Famiglia as well as work together with them to save Amato! Just how will everything turn out? Well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out!