*Warning: The following chapter contains a lot more strong language than in previous chapters. You have been forewarned.
Chapter 9: The Test of the Bells Part 1
Later, the three of them met at the field by the lake Spauracchio described, and were surprised to see that he was nowhere to be seen. Their guns were loaded, and made sure to carry plenty of throwing knives, but their growling stomachs betrayed their determined demeanor. So Gelato sat down in frustration, followed by Rosa, while Tony stood, with his arms wrapped around his waist. After thirty minutes, the sun had gone further down below the distant skyscrapers. There was a cool summer breeze rushing through the darkened trees, and the water on the lake only rippled slightly.
They all sighed, thinking that Spauracchio had ditched them, when suddenly he came up from behind them and said, "So you three decided to show up after all."
Gelato and Rosa glared back at him saying, "Where the hell have you been, Capo?!"
"Oh, I saw a black cat cross my path on the way here, so I had to take the long way. I was also setting up the traps."
"The traps?" Rosa asked.
"For the test, of course," Spauracchio assured. Then he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out two silver bells hanging from strings. "Now, as for what this test involves, you simply have to grab one of the bells I'm holding up, and that is all."
"That's it? I thought we had to kill you or something like that!" Gelato blurted out.
"Oh, I didn't think of that. You cannot kill me to get the bells, but I will be hiding, and I will try to take you three down before you can grab them," Spauracchio said calmly, and was surprised by the frightened reaction that Gelato and Rosa gave him. So he sighed and said, "But because your lives are just as valuable as mine, I won't kill you, but I might severely injure you if I must. With that in mind, are you ready to begin?"
"Yes, Capo Spauracchio!" All three said in unison.
"Good, now since there are only two bells, one of you will lose. That Soldier who loses gets no dinner, while the others do."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get started already!" Gelato said, pulling out a throwing knife and was about to throw it, when Spauracchio suddenly appeared behind him and grabbed his arm and shoulder.
"I didn't say 'start', Gelato," Spauracchio said. "What's the rush?"
"Because…because you made us not eat anything prior to the test, and I'm really hungry right now!"
"So that's it," Spauracchio nodded. "Then we will go ahead and start the test now, if you are that anxious. When the big clock at the center of the park strikes six, the test is over, which gives you an hour to find me and take the bells."
And with that, Spauracchio disappeared, and didn't reappear within the area that surrounded them.
"Dammit, I should've grabbed the bells when he was right behind me! Now how're we supposed to find him?"
"We could try to use a tracking spell (jutsu) or maybe a flight spell to scout the area," Rosa suggested.
"Do you happen to know any tracking spells?" asked Tony.
"Not…really," Rosa said nervously. "Do you?"
"No, and I doubt you learned any tracking or flight spells with Delfino, Gelato."
"For your information, I did learn tracking spells!" exclaimed Gelato.
"Then why don't you use them?"
Gelato thought for a moment, then he said, "I don't remember them."
Tony sighed, and started to walk away.
"Where are you going, Tony?" Rosa asked.
"To find Spauracchio, of course," Tony stopped. "It's getting darker by the minute, and that will make it harder for us to spot him. But I don't think we should find him together. We'll cover more ground if we split up and look for him individually."
"But won't that make us more vulnerable if he does attack?" Rosa bit her lower lip.
"You and Gelato can form a group if you want to, but I'm going to find him alone either way," Tony said, and walked down the sidewalk toward a lane of trees in the distance.
As soon as he was gone, Gelato put his arm around Rosa's shoulder and looked deep into her eyes as he spoke, "So, which way do you wanna go, Rosa?"
"Get your arm off me, you pig!" Rosa snapped, grabbing Gelato's arm and she threw him forward over her shoulder, and he landed on the ground in front of her.
"But Rosa, you can't ignore me forever," Gelato groaned. "We're on the same Squad, so I thought it would be nice if we could work together."
For a moment, Rosa didn't say anything, and then she leaned down until her face was directly above Gelato's. Then she spit at Gelato's cheek and said, "You're a pain in the neck and really annoying!"
Then she ran off in the same direction Tony went, leaving Gelato all alone as the darkness gathered closer in. The lake had lost the sunset glow, but it was still light enough to where Gelato could see his reflection as he washed the spit off his face, sighing deeply as he did so. Then, he saw another reflection next to his and quickly got up pulling out the knife he couldn't throw before. It was Spauracchio.
"Spauracchio? Where did you come from?" Gelato asked.
"I was hanging out behind this tree reading my book," Spauracchio said, holding the book up to his nose.
It was bright orange with a big red on it, and though it was dark, Gelato could barely make out the title, which read Make-Out Paradise. This confused him greatly. He thought that maybe the Capo would be carrying a gun or a knife, but instead, he was reading a pornographic novel. This made Gelato's grip on the knife tighten, when he realized that Spauracchio had teleported within the vicinity, but neither him nor his teammates bothered to notice him behind one of the trees, when he was clearly not doing anything.
"Well if you've got the time to read your book," Gelato said, repositioning his grip due to how sweaty his hand got from the excitement. "Then do you have time to dodge this?!"
He swung at Spauracchio's waist, where the bells were tied, but Spauracchio stepped to the side. Then Gelato went for his chest, and he ducked. So Gelato tried to kick him in the face, but even then, Spauracchio managed to stick one foot out and trip Gelato, all while hardly glancing from his novel. As he stood up, Gelato glared at him and threw the knife at Spauracchio's nonchalant face, but he only disappeared before the knife hit him.
"Argh! Quit Teleporting (Substitute Jutsu), Spauracchio!" Gelato shouted, looking both ways as he stood up. "Now show your face, you coward!"
"Right here!" Spauracchio said.
Suddenly, Gelato felt a strong pain in his groin as Spauracchio kicked it from behind. Then while Gelato was clutching his privates, Spauracchio moved in and used his other foot to kick Gelato from the side, sending him flying into the lake, where he landed a few ways out with a Splash! When it seemed like Gelato wouldn't resurface anytime soon, Spauracchio walked away.
"In case you're still alive, Gelato, the only reason I stayed here instead of teleporting to some random place in the park was because I figured that the weakest member would stay behind, and it looks like I was right."
Then he stopped when he heard not one but a dozen splashes from behind him. He turned around and saw lots of Gelato Homunculi leaping out of the water, and they all landed on him before he could move. He tried to struggle, but they had him tightly bound, and then another Gelato, no doubt the real one, came out of the water last and was closing in for a punch.
"No one calls me a weak member and gets away with it!" Gelato shouted, but then just before he landed a punch, Spauracchio disappeared again, and he punched one of his own Homunculi instead.
This in turn caused a fistfight amongst all of them, since all the Homunculi shared the same personality and it took quite a few minutes for the real Gelato to reverse the spell. Once he did, he set off towards the direction of the setting sun, into the field behind the trees that lined the sidewalk and into the woods beyond. By this time, the sun was completely down, and the first star was visible.
After twenty minutes of meaningless searching, Gelato spotted something shiny under the light of a lamppost on the sidewalk he was taking. He sneaked up to have a closer look, and saw that it was one of the bells. In delighted triumph, he went into the light of the lamppost and leaned down to pick it up when he found himself trip over something and fall over the bell. He hit the sidewalk really hard, and hissed in pain when he noticed that the thing that tripped him was a clear wire that was tied to the lamppost and stretched out to the other one. It was also during this time that Spauracchio came out of the shadows and picked up the bell.
"My, my, Gelato, you are full of surprises," Spauracchio said, tying the bell back onto his waist. "First you cleverly ambush me with that 'Centurion of Homunculi' as I recall from your profile, and then you fall for the old trip-wire trap like a complete moron. You should've been taught that if the bait is obvious, you don't grab it."
"Damn you, damn you," Gelato muttered, clutching his knee which was really sore.
"Cursing isn't going to help ease the pain," Spauracchio said.
Then somewhere in the darkness, several rounds of bullets were fired directly at Spauracchio, who quickly disappeared before they hit him. So instead, they ricocheted off the pavement, the lamppost, and near Gelato's rear. He automatically knew who it was.
"Hey, Tony, watch where you're shooting next time! I could've been shot in the ass on top of falling on the pavement!"
But Tony said nothing, and quickly ran down the lane of trees next to the sidewalk, knowing that Spauracchio was probably nearby and knew where he was hiding. But he also heard another set of footsteps, but they were lighter.
Rosa, Tony thought, and quickened his pace.
Meanwhile, Rosa, who had been keeping up with Tony before, had now lost the sound of his footsteps, and it was too dark to see him physically. She started to grow nervous, but quickly subdued it and ran faster. Then, she thought she heard a voice, and stopped. At first, she couldn't see anyone, and then she felt a light tap on the back of her head. But when she looked, nobody was there. Thinking that Spauracchio was close, she decided to risk stepping out of the trees and onto the sidewalk, which was scattered with lampposts. Avoiding the light under the lampposts, she quietly walked down the sidewalk, looking in both directions. Then she heard a hoarse but familiar voice behind her.
"Tony!" She cried, turning around.
But what she saw made her insides feel queasy. Under the light of one of the lampposts lay Tony, but he was badly hurt and breathing heavily. He called her name several times, but all she could do was stare, and pass out. Then, the injured Tony suddenly faded away, making the real Tony who was hiding nearby flinch.
This is Spauracchio's doing. He used Illusion (Genjutsu) on Rosa to make her think that I was injured. I'm surprised she fell for it, considering her reputation of being really smart. Guess those who said so were wrong, Tony thought, and sprinted away.
Then he came to a large circular area that acted as a crossroads for various paths, with lampposts on all sides, and a gigantic fountain complete with cupids and a statue of the 1st Boss (1st Hokage). He didn't see Spauracchio anywhere, but he figured he had to be somewhere. Nevertheless, he decided to risk stepping out into the circle, and quickly ran to the fountain. As he crouched down, he reloaded his handgun with new rounds in case Spauracchio decided to show up. Afterwards, he heard footsteps, and stood up with his gun out in front of him. When he saw no one, he lowered his gun, and it was then that he felt the cold edge of a throwing knife on his throat and his hands being bound up from behind him, causing him to drop the gun.
"You're really cocky, and I thought you were smarter than the others," said Spauracchio.
End of Chapter 9