Chapter 14: Disprezzare Corrente, the Rogue Mobster
Characters (in order of first appearance):
Haku / Fiera
It took them nearly an entire day, but by nightfall, Gelato and the others had managed to reach the pier that faced the bay. The water was darkly clear, and the docks and houses nearby were rugged and creaking. But despite the disappearing light, Gelato could make out a small island in the distance, which he assumed was the Riva district. While the other three and Freno were resting, Gelato eagerly went up and down the pier.
"If we pick a really fast boat, we might be able to reach Riva in a couple of hours!" Gelato said cheerfully.
"We're not going to Riva tonight. It would be too dangerous," Spauracchio said, putting a hand on Gelato's shoulder.
"But it's already dangerous enough to travel during the daytime, and we're this close to completing our mission," Rosa said.
"I know you're all anxious, but we don't want to risk getting into the same situation that happened with the Demon Brothers."
Thinking about the Demon Brothers made Gelato look at his hand, which was bandaged, and clenched it. Shortly after he had recovered, he vowed he would not cower before enemies, no matter how strong they were. He thought about staying on the island and ridding the district of its leading gangster, but he didn't know how the others would react.
"Besides," Spauracchio said, sitting down next to Freno. "Freno had arranged us a boat-ride in advance tomorrow at dawn, so we had better get some rest."
Gelato sighed. "All right, but if it were me, I would get to the district as soon as possible."
But he quickly fell asleep against the wall of an abandoned shack they decided to use as shelter, as he was tired from all the walking they did that day. Rosa and Freno soon followed afterward, leaving Spauracchio and Tony, who were very light sleepers, to act as watchmen in case Disprezzare decided to attack them in the night. Now that they were this close to Malacca's home territory, they were in more danger than they were when the Demon Brothers attacked them. Luckily, the night wasn't very eventful, and they all woke up at dawn to find a small rowboat next to the dock, with a skinny little man occupying it.
As the eastern horizon was lit by rosy orange light, the boat moved steadily along, navigating through the early morning mist. But as the light grew stronger, the mist started to clear, and move towards the mainland. No one said a word in the boat, not even the rower who kept his head focused in front of him for the sake of respecting the Mafia members. Then, while the old man was asleep, Spauracchio and the three Soldiers put their heads close together, and discussed what they would do when they reached Riva.
Spauracchio cleared his throat, and then he whispered, "Okay, guys, when we get to Riva, we'll take Freno back to his family, hide out somewhere until it gets dark, and hitch another boat back to the mainland."
"But Capo, what about Freno?" Rosa said, looking at the snoring old man. "He's in more danger now that he's back."
"Whatever happens to him is none of our business," Spauracchio said firmly. "Our mission was to bring him home, not to interfere in the politics of this independent district."
"Then aren't we going back on the promise we made to help him build the bridge?" Gelato asked, clenching his fist.
Spauracchio sighed. "If you're that concerned with the affairs of Riva, we'll take it up to the Godfather when we get back."
"But by the time we tell this to the Godfather, Freno might be dead already!"
Suddenly, a gunshot was heard, and the rower fell backward with a bullet lodged in his forehead. Quickly, Spauracchio tossed the body over the side of the boat, causing a loud splash, and took the oars.
"Everyone, get down," he said, sitting in the rear of the boat and covering himself in an old blanket the doctor gave him and the others when they left.
"What are you doing? Why did you throw that man overboard?" Freno asked, waking up from his slumber.
"If the shooter hears the splash, he might think you're dead. But in case he comes to check the body, we need you to pretend you're dead so that we can catch him off-guard."
"I see," Freno sighed, and proceeded to lie flat on the bottom of the boat, despite the cold puddles of sea-water that came in when the boat rocked. "So we're just sitting ducks, then."
The other three did as Spauracchio ordered, and curled up on the bottom of the boat covered in their blankets, pretending to be supplies and such things. When the mist cleared further, Spauracchio could see another boat moving towards them. It was a motorboat, which made him wonder why they didn't hear it before. As it moved closer in a slow, steady rhythm, Spauracchio could make out two people in the boat.
The first was a tall man with white gauze strips wrapped around the lower half of his face, short brown hair, and piercing black eyes. He wore a similar blue tie to that of the Demon Brothers, with his white dress-shirt sleeves rolled up to reveal bulging tan muscles, black slacks, and holding a large sniper rifle in his hands. Unfortunately, the other person wasn't visible from Spauracchio's point of view. As they pulled up next to their boat, the tall man raised his rifle at Spauracchio's head, and clicked the gun.
"I'm sorry you had to get mixed up in this, but I don't want you causing any trouble while we collect the body," the tall man said briskly.
"The body? Oh, you mean Freno's body," said Spauracchio, doing an impersonation of an old man.
"Were you an acquaintance of his?"
"Oh, no, I just heard of him through friends and neighbors. A nice fellow, he was."
"But a troublemaker by Malacca's standards," the tall man then nodded to the other person. "Fiera, check his pulse."
The tall man watched him as the other person got into their boat. It was a little boy of Gelato's age, with long black hair and a pretty face that almost made him look like a girl. He wore a stylish green jacket with black buttons and short black shorts with matching stockings and shoes. For a brief second, he looked at Spauracchio, and knelt down.
It was then that the other three sprang out from underneath their blankets, with Tony grabbing the boy by the neck, while the other two pointed their guns at the tall guy. Initially, he wasn't surprised, and still pointed his gun at Spauracchio. But when Spauracchio unveiled himself and raised his gun at him, he was surprised.
"'Specchio Occhi' Spauracchio!" he exclaimed. "I never thought I would run into you here."
"And you're Disprezzare Corrente, the rogue mobster who rebelled against the entire Caligine family," Spauracchio said, clicking the gun. "Let me guess, Malacca promised you a great deal of money for killing Freno, and you took it because you stilled owed the Demon Brothers for their help in the rebellion, saying that you would split the reward with them."
"But seeing that you're still alive, I guess they're dead," Disprezzare sighed. "Oh, well, more money for me when I bring the old man's corpse back."
"Not if I can help it."
"I see, so you want to make my job harder," Disprezzare said, and tossed his rifle down. "Then let's settle this one-on-one, that way less blood will be shed. I've always wanted to fight the legendary 'Specchio Occhi' Spauracchio, and maybe I'll get an even bigger award from Malacca."
"You disgust me," Spauracchio said, and removed his eye-patch.
As the sun's first rays hit the water, everyone in the boat looked at Spauracchio as he looked at them. While his right eye was dark brown, his left eye was crimson red with black swirls curling out from the pupil. They were all mesmerized, especially Tony, who was completely shocked, but still kept his grip on Fiera.
"The Specchio Occhi eyes," Tony muttered loudly.
"What is it?" Rosa asked, as Spauracchio and Disprezzare stepped out of the boats and onto the water, which they walked on with ease.
"It's a gift (kekkei genkai) that only runs within members of my family clan, and it seems he's mastered it as well."
"How can you tell?"
"You can tell by the number of swirls around the pupil. Most Fuori clan members who have the eyes usually start with one or two swirls, and after enough training and practice, you get three, which shows you've mastered it."
"So how did Spauracchio get such an exclusive power?" Gelato asked.
"I don't know. As far as I know, Spauracchio isn't of Fuori blood."
So the three of them watched, with Fiera still struggling and calling out Disprezzare's name as the two walked out a few feet from the boats and stood ready to fight. But then, Disprezzare made the sign of the Ram and said, "Mist of the Nereids (Hiding in Mist Technique)!"
An unnatural mist covered the sea, and blocked the four's view from the fight. There were punching sounds and water being thrown back and forth, but only their imaginations could picture what was going on. Then suddenly, Disprezzare appeared from behind them and was about to stab Freno, when Gelato jumped over him and stabbed Disprezzare in the face. But instead of falling backwards, Disprezzare dissolved into water, leading Gelato to fall out of the boat.
"What was that?" Rosa asked.
"An Acqua Decoy (Water Clone)," This was the first time that Fiera spoke, and his voice was as beautiful as his face. "It's similar to your Homunculi spell, but instead of dissolving into blood, the Decoys dissolve into water."
"You sure seem to know a lot, for a girl," Gelato said, crawling back into the boat.
"Um, I'm sorry to disappoint you," Fiera said, blushing. "But I'm a boy."
This shocked Gelato and Rosa, but Tony was relatively calm.
"WHAAAAAT?! He's prettier than Rosa!" Gelato said, pointing at Fiera.
"He's prettier than me!" Rosa coincided.
End of Chapter 14