Chapter 43:

Or A Jailer Does It With Superiority

This is going to be one of the more controversial chapters of this arc. When I first planed this arc, it was when Tsunayoshi was a baby. But now he's not, and that difference means a lot for the theme of this chapter. Especially with Tsunayoshi being in the age range of 4-6 at the moment (roughly). So please bare that in mind when reading this chapter and Reborn's (which is at the end guys!).

Bermuda and the abilities of his unique Flame gave new meaning to the term Fast Food. Warping directly to the restaurant and back meant that Tsunayoshi had his meal quicker than a waiter could have handed it to him at the restaurant. Viper too was privy to this luxury. The others… well they were busy at the moment. At least there would be food waiting for them after a job well done. From the sounds of things Bermuda and the Vindice couldn't have done a better job themselves.

And sure, Tsunayoshi was happy with the meal, not having had any sushi since his last meeting with Takeshi months back, but Bermuda knew better than that. Little boys were not good at hiding their feelings, and Bermuda made his living off of reading people. He saw that Viper too had her eye on the child. Every scream making its way through the walls caused a harsher bite. Every yelp made the chopsticks twitch. So no matter how much the boy seemed to be pouting over Verde not believing him, it was clear to the pair that Skull was most definitely on his mind.

But as heart breaking as it was to watch Tsunayoshi like this, Bermuda was certainly not going into that room. He had never had a meeting with the demonic accessory Luce bore, and he didn't plan on having a meeting either. And sure, he was Bermuda Von Veckenschtein, current Boss of the Mafia-wide feared Vindice and owner of the inescapable Vendicare Prison, but even he wouldn't want to face off against 6 of the World's Strongest People at once when they were being overprotective- he'd done that once already, and once was one time too many. That was like walking into a mafia den in full regalia and announcing "I am a police man!". You'd be dead in an instant.

So once they were finished eating, Bermuda did the next best thing. Leaving a note behind, Bermuda went upstairs and packed a bag before grabbing Natsu and returning downstairs. He takes Tsunayoshi's hand and leads him into the center of the living room carpet. Turning to face Viper, Bermuda bows. "And to you fair lady, we bid you adieu." Tsunayoshi giggles and bows at Viper too, before the pair step into the materialized black hole.

They step out into pitch blackness. Bermuda claps his hands before commanding "Order: Lights." One by one the candelabras in the hallway light up, casting the corridor in a soft glow, enough for them to find their way around easily. Almost immediately, making Tsunayoshi jump, there is a cloaked and top hatted man kneeling infront of Bermuda.

"Bermuda-sama, you have returned." Says Jager, still looking at the floor.

"Indeed. You may rise." Jager nods and stands up, before directing his gaze towards Tsunayoshi. "He will be staying the night here and accompanying us tomorrow."

"As you wish Bermuda-sama. Shall I prepare a room for him?" Jager bows slightly in answer to the order.

Bermuda shakes his head to the question. "Negative. He shall sleep in my room tonight." Tsunayoshi got the feeling that Jager raised an eyebrow at that statement, but the brim of the top hat and the covering bandages made it kind of hard to see the action.

Bermuda liked this guy, to Tsunayoshi that was clear. Even if he was talking in that rather scary Boss tone like when Tsunayoshi had first entered the Vendicare House, there was still a hint of respect and a softer undertone. Stepping forwards, Tsunayoshi squeezes Natsu tightly for support before smiling at the man before him. "Hello, My name is Tsunayoshi!"

Wow, that was bright, thought Jager, wishing for a pair of sunglasses. A smile like that was not something the Vindice saw that often. No one smiles at all when they were around considering they dealt with maniacs and people even mafia criminals deemed unsafe. As such, the other eyebrow rises in Bermuda's direction. He had left them for this? Bermuda spent everyday living with this fluffy, sugary, puffball, instead of them? Really, what was the world coming to?!

Uh-oh, he'd better respond quickly, Bermuda-sama was giving him that look. How could this child even stand in the aura created from that look? Jager quickly crouches down infront of the boy. "Nice to meet you too Tsunayoshi. My name is Jager and I work for Bermuda." Phew, crisis averted. Bermuda could get scary at times.

Tsunayoshi looks Jager over since this was the first time they'd properly met. The last time he had met any of the Vindice other than Bermuda was the first time he entered this house, with their dramatic entrance and them trying to kill him with their chains. Not the best first impression to be honest, but then again they were the Mafia Jailers and had a reputation to uphold. It's not like they were going to welcome him with tea and biscuits that first time now was it. In general he's dressed up like Bermuda, in a top hat, bandages covering his face, hands, neck and any other parts where skin would have been showing. He also has a cloak on too, but unlike Bermuda's the collar was not made up of purple feathers but instead of a white fur. It looked really fluffy and soft.

Tsunayoshi fiddles with Natsu in his hands before looking up and asking, "Can I touch the fluffy bit?"

Err… maybe no? He quite liked his personal space thank you. He wasn't some animal at a petting zoo. Buuut, maybe that should be a yes. Anything to get Bermuda's glare to stop boring a hole through his back. "Sure." Jager complies. "It's made out of the tail of an artic fo-" Oh holy heaven wrong thing to say! He could feel it, Bermuda was going to kill him! He'd just told a kid that he wore actual fur. "Ahh, it looks like a fox tail right?"

Tsunayoshi reaches forwards and strokes the fur- it was softer than he imagined! And so white too. Tsunayoshi misses Jager's slip up and nods as he steps backwards "Yeah it does!" He turns to face Bermuda, a frown on his face, "Is something wrong Bermuda?" Bermuda felt kind of angry to him. Tsunayoshi wondered what had caused it, was he not supposed to touch?

Tsunayoshi looks down at the floor, chin tight to his chest, Natsu covering his face. In a quiet voice he carefully asks, "Are you mad with Skull too?"

Ah! Bermuda knew it. Tsunayoshi was worried about Skull. "No I am not, or else I'd be a hypocrite" he adds that last bit in under his breath so Tsunayoshi doesn't hear him. But he had brought Tsunayoshi here to be away from that and to stop the boy fretting. He needed a distraction and quick. "Come on Tsunayoshi." He quickly picks the child up and holds him against his shoulder before striding down the corridor.

Bermuda didn't know what the Arcobaleno's problem was. Skull had taken every precaution possible to keep Tsunayoshi safe, even using the harnesses. Bermuda would have gotten mad if Skull hadn't done any of those things nor tried to protect Tsunayoshi when things went wrong. But Skull had done, so he had no problem. Although maybe he could call Reborn a hypocrite if he planned to do what Bermuda thought he was going to.

He carries Tsunayoshi into a room filled with a long table. Chains were hanging around the room almost like party streamers, the curtains were black and ripped, the chairs were made out of mahogany with dark red fabric. He sits down at the larger chair at the far end of the room before placing Tsunayoshi on his lap. This time Jager just shakes his head. He knew that Bermuda could be childish at times, but really.

"I order thee to assemble." Bermuda commands. Tsunayoshi had learnt that Bermuda liked to speak in an old fashioned way at times, usually when either being cheeky, ordering people about or when he was super super angry. Apparently thee meant you. Tsunayoshi had been told off repeatedly for using it out of context. Seemingly his cute image didn't allow him to use these turns of speech.

In the space of a blink there was suddenly someone else sat at the tale. " So who it is now Bermuda-sama? My dolls are getting rusty, who needs killing no- Ouch!" Alejandro holds his cheek where Bermuda had slapped him with his chains, quickly followed by a slap to the other cheek by Jager's chains. He looks over to his Boss and suddenly sees the addition to the table. "Eh, wasn't this the brat that came a few months back? What's he doin' here? Are we holdin' him ransom? Or are we just going to get rid of him as an example?"

Jager's hand twitches as he resisted the urge to face-palm. How stupid could Alejandro get? Jager walks down around the table and places a hand on Alejandro's shoulder before leaning down to whisper, "That's the Tsunayoshi that Bermuda-sama keeps on talking about." Under the bandages Alejandro's eyes widen. How far could he short warp again? Was it possible to reach the moon and hide from Bermuda's wrath? No, he didn't have enough Flames left. Bermuda wouldn't leave him Flames-less as punishment would he? That was just the kind of childish torture Bermuda would partake in, and he would know, being the second oldest Vindice.

Tsunayoshi looks up at Bermuda, eyes wide. "Should I not be here? Do I need to leave?" he asks confused. He didn't quite get what this new person was talking about.

Bermuda shakes his head, "No Tsunayoshi, he was just talking about a mission. We'll talk about it later." Alejandro didn't like the sound of that. But at least having the child here meant that Bermuda wouldn't do anything too horrifying right now.

Soon after the main group of the Vindice appear and all sit around the table. Tsunayoshi looks around and notices that all of their collars are different. However all were bandaged and wearing cloaks and top hats. Bermuda tugs on Tsunayoshi, forcing the boy to sit directly forwards, Tsunayoshi's back against his chest before placing his chin on Tsunayoshi's shoulder to rest. An extremely clear sign to all of the Vindice present that Tsunayoshi was his and not to be messed with. The Vindice all gulp at once, getting the message loud and clear.

Tsunayoshi smiles and leans his head slightly, enough to rest his cheek against Bermuda's own. These people felt kind of scary, but he was sure that Bermuda would look after him, plus he was getting a hug and who didn't like hugs? The Vindice watching wanted to drop their jaws at the display. This was not a suggested action for people like them. For some, their jaws might literally fall off and that wouldn't be good, and for others, like Jager, their lips were sewn together so his jaw could only drop far enough for him to speak. Did this little boy have no fear at all! There the little boy was, snuggling up to the most feared person in the Mafia like a cat! They were sure that the answer was simple: this boy was mentally insane. Insane, stupid, idiotic, having a death wish, take your pick for no one in their right mind touched Bermuda so familiarly without ending up dead, not even them.

"Tsunayoshi, I want you to meet the other members of the Vindice." Bermuda says, lifting a hand up from his hug to point to the others.

"And Bermuda's Family is Tsunayoshi's Family!" the little boy sings. The Vindice were Bermuda's family before Tsunayoshi ever came into the picture. They were important to Bermuda so they were important to Tsunayoshi, as simple as that.

This little boy was going to be the death of the Vindice. He was so sweet and sugary that he was going to rot their already rotting bodies and kill them. Imagine that: Vindice killed by small child. The mafia headlines would love that news.

Bermuda smiles behind his bandages at that, watching how his team members were affected by the child. If they thought that was bad, try living with the cuite. Coughing into his hand, Bermuda draws them all back to reality. "Tsunayoshi, you've already met Jager, my right hand man, and Alejandro. The others are Jaque, Junk, Small Gia and Big Pino." The others all nod or wave and give a small greeting in reply except Big Pino who just goes 'pipipupupi' instead.

Tsunayoshi says hi to them all back before conversations turn to other things. Eventually, Tsunayoshi starts yawning. He moves in Bermuda's grip, this time sitting sidewards with his right side pressed against Bermuda. With his head resting against Bermuda's shoulder, Tsunayoshi falls asleep.

"Geez Boss, you could have warned us you were bringing him. We all had to get changed pretty quick. I don't think he'd like to see the true us." Comments Jaque.

"I agree, we're scary enough as it is. I'd hate for this little one to hate us." Agrees Junk, being the only female there.

Bermuda thinks about this for a moment before gently lifting Tsunayoshi without moving the child too much. "You know, I don't think he'd actually mind that much. He has this innocence that transcends childish ignorance. He is very accepting of everything he sees, especially considering the diverse family we have." No one missed the we of that sentence.

"He reminds me of our Sky." Says Small Gia, talking for both him and Big Pino.

"And mine," agree the others one at a time.

Bermuda smiles and stops inside the door frame. "I think he's going to be the greatest, most harmonious Sky that ever existed." The atmosphere suddenly turns cold and the Vindice get excited. They loved this side of their Boss. This was the Boss they were all used too. "And I'm not going to let him become tainted. I'll get my revenge before those monochrome hands can even touch him."

The Vindice couldn't agree more.

After eating a breakfast of cereal and milk, Bermuda takes Tsunayoshi back to his room to get changed. He puts Tsunayoshi into black jeans and a black top.

"Ne, Bermuda…" asks Tsunayoshi, nervously fiddling with his fingers. "Can I... have a hat too?" asks Tsunayoshi quietly. He knew that those hats were for the Vindice only, but he really wanted one. Then he'd be allowed to copy Bermuda's old fashioned words! Tsunayoshi swears that Bermuda disappears for a second, a second and third image created by the movement, for suddenly Bermuda's in a different position and there is a hat on his hand. This hat is the same shape as the others, with only one difference. Instead of the ripped white bandage, this one is a muted orange. Bermuda places it on his head as Tsunayoshi bounced up and down in front of him in excitement.

"Hmm, one more touch." Thinks Bermuda out loud. He plucks one of the purple feathers from his coat and places it in the bandage banner of the hat. There, now it was perfect and almost an exact replica of his own hat. Finally there is one more thing he needs to give Tsunayoshi. Reaching under his cloak he pulls out a Japanese mask depicting a Kitsune. "I need you to wear this Tsunayoshi, and once we leave this house you are not to take it off, understand?" His tone was strict and Tsunayoshi reacts to it. Instead of getting enthusiastic over the cool looking accessory, he nods and takes it in a serious manor.

Just like Skull did, Bermuda was going to take every precaution he could to keep Tsunayoshi safe. This mask was to keep Tsunayoshi's identity a mystery. The plain cloths, a black to match his cloak, would hide Tsunayoshi from sight whilst the hat would hide his distinct hair style. There were not going to be any repercussions.

He goes back to the entrance hall of the house to meet back up with the people who were coming today. He was going to take Jager, the strongest after him, along with Alejandro who had the most experience, with him as another layer of protection. Not that anything would go wrong. This Family didn't even have Flame control and bullets were useless against their numb bodies and unbeating hearts.

A warp hole is opened by Bermuda before them (Tsunayoshi never even considered how this was done, knowing nothing of space or transportation. All he knew was that it looked cool and was rather useful), but instead of entering they wait for a few seconds. Slowly, mist builds up in the room, streaming out of the warp hole.

"Bermuda-sama loves his dramatic entrances." Comments Jager to Tsunayoshi. The mist always accompanied the Vindice wherever they went due to this warp hole transportation. The warp hole itself took one through space, hence why for normal humans, one's breath had to be held. In addition, Space was very cold, and the cold emanating from the hole caused the water droplets in the room to freeze or turn into mist. It certainly saved money on buying a smoke machine. Once the mist was thick enough on their side, the Vindice knew it would be thick enough of the other side too. Bermuda picked Tsunayoshi up and walked towards the warp hole.

"Prepare yourself Tsunayoshi. This is my daily life and it isn't pretty. Like I said to you when we first met, I am ruthless and unforgiving. Rules are set and must be abided by, punishments must be given to rule breakers."

"Like Luce's Bag." Whispers Tsunayoshi. "Don't worry Bermuda. I'll be fine. If I get scared then I'll just remember that you are everyone's knight and you do what you do to protect us. Naughty people need to be smacked, right?"

The Vindice in the room laugh out loud now that the pair have stepped through the portal. Them, Knights? What kind of Knight had revenge as their only motivation? An evil fallen Black Knight, that was who. They didn't wear black because they liked it, but because it reminded them of who they were.

"Quick everyone, it's the Vindice!" As Tsunayoshi is carried through the warp hole, that is the first thing he hears.

"You have made an unviable error in your ways Regano Famiglia. It is inexcusable to attack civilians like you have. You should know how to conduct yourselves by now." Bermuda intones, voice deep and fear inducing. Already a few men in the room have frozen in their tracks, others are slowly edging their way towards the door.

"We are well within our right!" shouts the Boss.

"Terrorism in not a condoned Mafia Act. The Vindice are generally lenient in what deplorable activities we allow, yet you took things too far."

"We can do whatever the hell we want to, that's why we became Mafioso in the first place. So deal with it!" The Boss becomes more and more brave as he slowly gets the backing of his men. Their fear of Bermuda is slightly being overridden by their will to keep their freedom. Like animals pinned into a corner, they will still fight the losing battle for what they want. Honorable, possibly, but certainly not for the freedom of the acts they were doing.

One man brings up a gun, his hands quivering uncontrollably. He twitches as fear controls his body and the gun goes off. One chain immediately knocks the bullet out of the air, ricocheting off the metal and into the wall across the other side of the room. But like a starting gun, it seems to be the signal for the resistance to begin. Most people were smart enough to know not to fight the Vindice, but there were some fools who seemed to have the world's share of idiocy and courage- a horrible death magnet combination-and fought back. But then again that made things interesting. The Mafia World was a source of endless entertainment.

"Fighting back proves your guilt," Bermuda explains, standing inside a circle of calm in the hectic room, "Your sentences shall be extended for resisting." Even though he had mentioned guilt, the Vindice were not people to give a trail, fair or not. Since they only acted in extreme cases, or ones in which they were invited to, there was no need for a trial.

"We are the Vindice and our word is Law!" Says Jager and Alejandro before sweeping their chains to deflect the rain of bullets coming towards them. Bermuda didn't even move, he just stood there keeping ahold of Tsunayoshi.

Some men threw knives, others shot bullets. Some extremely stupid ones went for hand to hand combat, equipping themselves with brass knuckles. A couple even came at the Vindice with Tasers crackling in their grasp. Yet not one attack got through. No one made the Vindice even move a step. The Vindice merely stood there, looking bored and ambiguous in their bandages, their chains moving around the room as if possessed or on strings. Too bad no one was watching the fight- either having run away or participating- or else they would have seen the beauty in the way the Vindice's chains moved. Each movement was graceful, dangerous and to the point, never an unneeded flick or lengthened route to the target.

Yet one little boy was watching, entranced and amazed by the movements. "So pretty," the boy whispers. Bermuda smiles. Only Tsunayoshi would ever find beauty in the dreaded Vindice, only he would find splendor in a fight.

Bermuda keeps an eye on the fight the whole time, watching the building of adrenaline and the rise of determination and craziness in the eyes of the judged. He waits and waits until one crucial moment before…

SHING

The whole room freezes right at the climax of the fight. Bermuda's chain is wrapped around the throat of the leader, raising him off the ground.

"Spoilsport." mutters Alejandro. This was yet another of Bermuda's quirks, hogging the spot light. Must come from his noble heritage.

"Payment will be made and the rule breakers punished," Bermuda announces into the silence. "We shall spare the others, but you had best not repeat the mistakes you have made. Next time, the Regano Famiglia shall be no more." At the end of this sentence, the other two Vindice Officers shoot out their chains, encircling them around the necks of the people who had planned and executed this act of terrorism. Even if they aren't in the room the chains hunt them down and trap them. There is no escape.

One by one the trapped and judged are dragged to lay infront of Bermuda. Everyone else has backed away in fear, knowing that they have lost and not wanting punishment.

With everyone collected Bermuda opens a warp hole in the floor behind him, invisible to the eyes of everyone else. As the mist starts pouring out and shrouding them and the prisoners, Bermuda whispers into the silence, "We are the Vindice... And our word is Law." before disappearing from sight.

Once back at the Vendicare, he hands the Boss over to one of his subordinates. "You know what to do Jager. I think there's still some room in the European Water Prison. Minds like theirs should not be allowed to walk this earth if that is what they use it for." Jager nods before he and a few others disappear with their captives.

Whilst the house at the end of Mafia Row was known as the Vendicare, or the Vindice House, it was purely a house and not the prison itself. Instead, the prisons were located around the world, in the most dangerous and inescapable places they could find. It would be pointless having it here on Mafia Row. If everyone knew where the prisons were then there would be endless rescue attempts.

Tsunayoshi takes off the mask before giggling. Bermuda looks over towards the laughing child and questions him. "Well," Tsunayoshi gasps. "You reminded me of Reborn. Both of you love the spotlight and making the most spectacular entrance possible. Reborn does it at home sometimes, timing his entrance or shooting a gun at the most intense time."

"Hehehe, That's Bermuda-sama for you," laughs Small Gia, tongue lolling about as always through the bandages. "Always stealing our thunder. I swear we're just here to make him look good."

"Bermuda was awesome!" compliments Tsunayoshi, looking up at Bermuda with wide eyes. "He stopped the bad men with only one move! Who else could do that?" Bermuda preened under the praise.

"Lets go home Tsunayoshi. I do believe that Fon is cooking Chinese tonight." Bermuda decided, lifting the boy up before going to gather up his belongings.

Once Bermuda has left the room, Small Gia stomps his foot. "Ah geez, Chinese? Do you know how long it's been since I ate one of those? Since before our last day of the representative battle that's when. Our Sky felt like it was going to be the end next day so she took us all out for a meal. Sure for a final meal we could have gone to a fancy Italian or French place, but really, what beats a Chinese takeaway?"

Extra:

Luce was in the kitchen early that morning, humming to herself as she started on breakfast preparations, as well as creating boxed lunches for her and Aria.

She goes and turns towards the fridge to get some butter for the frying pan, but screams at what she sees.

For there was this phantom bandaged zombie hand appearing out of nowhere, opening the fridge and reaching for the bottle of milk there. It grabs the milk before disappearing and returning moments later. The hand then moves towards a counter cupboard and opens it, only to steal the cereal. Again, after disappearing, the box is returned to its correct place.

Then the hand disappears altogether.

What? It wasn't Bermuda's fault that the Vendicare didn't have any food.

I hope you all liked it! The Vindice was interesting to write about.

Phantom Hitman 1412

First Published 07 October 2012

Or a Jailer with superiority- Bermuda takes Tsunayoshi to watch over the capturing of a criminal- nothing too brutal.