The Bake Sale is on!

February, The 3rd.

Soichiro's eyes shot wide open and he sat up. His entire body was covered in sweat... yuck. He sighed, was what he saw a dream? Was that guy... that silver haired guy really after him? It all seemed too real. Why was he coming after him? "That guy... does he have something planned for me? Of course he does. I'm Giove XII... FUCK." He said it with so much force that it had Vincenzo, the first Giove Boss, rolling in his casket. Soichiro got dressed for school and while he did that, Renovatio was busy talking to Lucci. "So tell me again... why did your boss send you?", Renovatio asked of Lucci. The 10 year old boy groaned, his head was beginning to hurt with all the questions asked. "Boss sent me here to investigate some cult. I wasn't supposed to kill Giove XII but... HE LOOKED SO EASY TO KILL, I COULDN'T RESIST THE URGE-" he was slapped on the back of his head by Hoshika and held back his tears. "Again, you need to learn self-control if you want to be a good hitman. Right now... You are even worse than Yoruichi and Soichiro combined!" Hoshika said the most unbelievable words ever. A hitman... worse than those two? I could believe Soichiro, but Yoruichi is not that bad of a hitman. He just needs to learn how to stop moving every five seconds. "Okay, you still went against your boss's wishes. I could tell him what you did to Soichiro... he and Giove XI will not be happy with you. Killing a successor to one of the most powerful families is just asking for a war." Renovatio casually said and Lucci almost pissed his pants when he heard that. Lucci was scared of his boss... the guy singlehandedly wiped out an entire family using his famous ice cream and a spoon. "W-wait, don't do that! I'm super, duper sorry! Please, with 13 cherries on top, don't tell boss what I did! He'll put me in the freezer for a week!", Lucci shouted at Renovatio with tears flowing down his cheeks. Renovatio tried his best to not laugh and put a hand on Lucci's shoulder, "to be a great hitman... you need to keep your emotions intact. That's lesson 35 for you, ain't it? And besides, your boss won't find out about this as long as you answer my last question. Where did you find the 10-year bazooka?", he asked Lucci. Hoshika had one of her sai in her left hand and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She wished to speak with Lucia about Soichiro and the Giove. She found Lucia in the kitchen, looking for her favorite mug. It felt like a day for coffee, ya know? "We need to talk. Now. This cannot wait and you know it, Lucia." Hoshika said coldly and walked out of the kitchen to the living room. She sat in a wooden chair and waited for Lucia, who found her mug that says "World's best mom" and sat in a chair that was facing Hoshika. "Speak, Stella."

"It appears we have a problem. A group of mafiosi has infiltrated this town. Their identities are unknown. However, they appear to wish to kill one of the successors to the Giove Famiglia. He is here, in this very house, breathing and acting normal for you. But... the gifts of the family are beginning to show. We must protect Soichiro or else we will lose another son of Italy." Hoshika stated with a sai being thrown at the table in front of them. It pierced through the wood and Lucia would have to buy another dining table... great. "Then its obvious, is it not? We will need to find the whereabouts of this group and eliminate them all. Or so help me, if my son is harmed in any way possible, I will kill every last one of them." Lucia said with her eyes fixated on Hoshika's. The women cared deeply for Soichiro, especially Lucia since he is her kid and all. The two women stood up and stared each other down, neither breaking their silence until Hoshika decided to tell a small truth. "Giove XI loves children as much as you do. That's why... if anything were to happen to Soichiro, he'd go ballistic." Hoshika said before walking out of the home. She did what she needed to do; There was no more reason to stay. Once she stepped outside, she clutched the red scarf that had been around her neck and took a deep breath then exhaled. "If any of them harm my little brother... only Reno will be enough to quell my anger." She said before running off to gather her weapons. She must prepare for a blood bath that you have never seen.

Currently, Soichiro was marching his way to school, with Lucci following behind him. Soichiro did not know that he was following him and met up with his friends, chatting about the bake sale that was happening today. It was clear that this thing meant alot to him after that lesson with Arisa Aoi, the second most popular girl in school, and her mother. He'll be raising hella money as long as his friends were by his side. "Okay, all we need to do is raise enough money for- wait, why are we raising money?", Soichiro asked Yoruichi and scratched his head. He had no idea what this all was for, maybe he forgot about it? "Oh, we're raising money to buy a new coffee maker for the teachers." Hotaru jokingly told Soichiro. Though it would make sense if they did something like that, not gonna lie to you. "Alright, fine. We are raising money to help a few hospitals gain new equipment to treat breast cancer-", Hotaru was cut off by Kaname. The disciplinary committee leader stood in front of Soichiro with his brass knuckles out and walked towards the young boy.

"I'm in a terrible mood right now, Soichiro. So I will be taking out my frustrations on you, 'Kay?", Kaname said just before he rushed at Soichiro. They were a few inches from each other, Kaname's fist almost reaching Soichiro's stomach. On instinct, Yoruichi got in front of Soichiro and took the blow for him. He groaned as Kaname retracted his fist and gave him a menacing glare, "what do you think you are doing? Do you not see that we have a little business to settle?" Kaname said to Yoruichi. The crimson eyed boy was twice as pissed before. Interfering with his fights was just asking for a fate that death could never stand up to. "Well, we need him in good condition. Remember the bake sale? We need his body to function properly." Hotaru said to Kaname, who had been in charge of looking over the pastries, and he turned around to walk away. "Yoruichi, whatever you call yourself, you will be my new punching bag." With that, Kaname disappeared into the school. Yoruichi scratched his head and shrugged, not really motivated enough to deal with Kaname's shit. Hotaru reminded the boys of what today was for and they all rushed inside the school. Hotaru watched Soichiro and Yoruichi cry in despair, "What did you forget?" Hotaru asked and the two boys gave Hotaru an uneasy smile. "Boss forgot to bring the pastry with him... and I forgot to remind him to do that." Yoruichi said to Hotaru. Hotaru began to laugh at Yoruichi, though it was a friendly one. Not a mocking type of laugh, of course. "How are you his right hand man, but forgot to remind him something thats REALLY important?!", the familiar voice of Hoshika said to Yoruichi. His arms slumped in embarrassment and the older woman chuckled. She put a hand in her jean pocket and pulled out her phone, dialing a number. Her phone ringed for a few seconds until someone on the other line picked up. "Are you nearby? Soichiro forgot to bring his uh... what was it called again... pastry! Yeah, bring it now. Don't you dare shush me- I'll have you know that I can march right on over there and-", She stopped yelling into her phone when the person hung up. She growled at the device and almost threw it to the ground; whoever that person was... they really irritated Hoshika. She faced the group of teenagers, "Well... your new friend Lucci will be delivering your pastry to you. Just wait a few minutes. And don't forget to catch up on the homework your teacher gave you!" Hoshika warned them of the consequences if they don't finish their homework. She walked away to the gym and Soichiro was worried about Lucci. The 10-year old hitman was probably eating his pastry right now. Man, if only he was given the ability to see everything all at once. Yoruichi and Hotaru reassured him that all will be going well today. They promised to jump Lucci if he did not arrive with the pastry untouched  in the next few minutes. "While we wait, something has been on my mind recently. What's the 10 year bazooka? Is it something similar to a nuke?", Hotaru wondered aloud with their companions. Well, Hotaru did have a point, what really IS the 10 year bazooka? "In Italy, they say its more like a time machine. You switch places with your future self with the help of the bazooka." Yoruichi informed Hotaru and Soichiro. They both nodded their heads once he was done explaining the 10-year bazooka. "Makes sense. A little bit, that is. Switching places sounds fun! Should we do it later?" Hotaru asked Soichiro and he disagreed on the idea. "If we were to use that bazooka, I don't know what will happen to our time. AND I DON'T WANNA KNOW WHAT I LOOK LIKE 10 YEARS IN THE FUTURE!", Soichiro yelled and gained glares from the two of them. He zipped his mouth, not daring to make another sound, and forced his way to the gym. He knew Lucci was already there because you could hear a kid having an argument with a grown man about the best flavor of ice cream.

"Listen, kid. You should take your elders advice and stick with vanilla. It's way better than that mockery of an ice cream called Cookie Dough." The adult male said to Lucci, who had Hoshika hold Soichiro's pastry in case a fight were to happen, and headbutted the older man. "If a kid like me can send you packing, then a baby can kill ya! And vanilla is not better than Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! You lack the taste of a real man." Lucci said as he reached for his gun in his jacket but was pulled away by Hotaru. The five of them (Hotaru, Soichiro, Yoruichi, Lucci, and Hoshika) had huddled up into a circle. Hoshika planned to warn them about the group of mafiosi, but had second thoughts about it. "If I were to tell them now, Soichiro would not be focused on this bake sale. He's been looking forward to it for a while now. Yoruichi would try to hunt them all down, only to end up dying a pathetic and useless death. Hotaru... I don't know, Hotaru just doesn't understand that this is not some sort of movie. In any case, my job is to protect them all. I... can't let them all die. So...", her mind trailed off as Soichiro had placed the pastry on a table with Arisa Aoi. The both of them couldn't look each other in the eye. Did something happened between them? Impossible. Soichiro is too dense to see any signs of Arisa loving him, Arisa doesn't know how to express that type of love to someone. Maybe its because they spent so much time together trying to make this pastry that they couldn't find the words to say "thank you". It was like Soichiro couldn't thank her enough for teaching him; Arisa couldn't thank him enough for not seeing her as a princess getting saved. Most boys here just see her as an object, not an actual person. Soichiro just saw her as Arisa: A kind, loving, and chatty girl. Well, it was time to break the silence. Hoshika placed her right hand on Soichiro's shoulder and her left hand on Arisa's shoulder, "You two play nice! Don't worry about anything else right now, you guys worked super hard on this. So just have fun! Don't forget to come home at 11, Chi-Chi." Hoshika said to Soichiro. He blushed a deep red and gently shoved Hoshika. The older woman laughed and waved goodbye to Soichiro, then exited the school building. Arisa had been nervous the whole time, beating herself up over the thoughts of no one liking her food. What if this was all for nothing? At that very moment, a group of boys walked over to Arisa's stand. The leader of the group spoke to her, "Whats the dish? Some cake or somethin'?" He asked Arisa. The guy wasn't from Namimori Middle, seeing how his uniform was green along with his friends. Could it be that he was from another middle school in Namimori? Yes. "Well, it is cake in a way. But you should give it a try. I promise, you won't regret it!", Arisa politely said to the group. The leader swayed his head back and forth, debating on whether or not she was worth the money. In the end, he placed 50¥ on her stand and looked to see her put a slice of her pastry, the blue fish, on a plate. She handed it to the guy and gave him a spoon. "Bomappeite!" She exclaimed. Soichiro watched the guy eat it and leaned in a bit closer, he wanted to see his reaction clearly. Their customer's eyes had widened as the sweet taste of cake entered his mouth. Once he started chewing, he felt a cold liquid go down his throat and it tasted like... ice cream? He encouraged his friends to try it out with an enthusiastic shove. Each of them placed 100¥ on their stand and earned a massive thumbs-up from the first guy.

Arisa was bewildered by the group of men begging for more, was her baking that good? Soichiro saw this as an opportunity to gain more donations so he devised a challenge of sorts, "You guys will get to have as many seconds or thirds as you please. Spread the word of the bake sale to all the people in Namimori!" Soichiro said and the small group immediately ran out of the gym. He smiled to Arisa and the two stared at each other for a few seconds. "Thank you... Soichiro-kun. I'll be back shortly, I have to go get Kaname!", Arisa said and ran away from Soichiro. She didn't really have to get Kaname, the bastard was too busy hunting a few troublemakers. She just couldn't stand near Soichiro... he was radiating an aura of pure light. While she was doing that, Soichiro was guarding the stand and drinking a soda. "Alright. Time to get to work."

——————

Q, the owner of a restaurant that opened up a few weeks ago, sat in Lucia's household. Q was given a cup of tea from Hoshika and held the cup in her hand. "So a group of mafiosi have come into Namimori. Judging from the information Lucci has given us, they are more of a cult than a group. Their goals doesn't make any sense whatsoever. All they want to do is kill Soichiro? Not a chance. There is more to them than what we are seeing. More importantly, who leaked out Soichiro's identity? The profiles of all the successors to Giove XI is classified information." Hoshika said to Q and Lucia. Lucia had been slightly nervous during the start of the meeting, was it because Q had been there? Who really is Q? "Indeed, I'm afraid that we have a mole in the family. I would send Renovatio back to Italy, but he is needed here to protect Soichiro. Soichiro cannot be left alone. Stella, go ahead and contact Lucci. We will be needing the little shit- I mean, kid. He will be Soichiro's bodyguard. Something tells me that Renovatio will be putting his student through a heart-breaking trial. Don't worry, he can handle himself." Q informed her colleagues and Hoshika frowned. She felt inadequate once Q told her that Lucci will be Soichiro's bodyguard. Lucci was just a kid! A kid stronger than a grown man. "But–" Hoshika started to object to the idea but was cut off by Lucia. "This would be a great chance for Lucci to gain new friends. I heard from his mother that he actively plays pranks on his boss because there isn't many kids in the Gelato family. Sure, some are 14-15 but they are teenagers. Lucci should have fun while his youth lasts." Lucia said to Hoshika with a warm smile. Hoshika nodded and drank her tea, silencing herself so she does not have an outburst. "Oh, and Stella. We will be having a guest arriving soon. So, while you are still awake, go set up the guest room downstairs. Please...?", Lucia half-begged her to do that. She was getting tired of doing all the housework alone; She couldn't make Soichiro help her because he is stressed enough with Renovatio. "R-right." Hoshika said before putting her cup of tea down on the new table and walked away to the basement. Right now, it was just Lucia and Q. The two looked at each other, their eyes immediately hardened upon contact. "Giove Undicesimo has a letter for Soichiro. Give it to him when he gets home." Q said before disappearing into thin air. The only thing that was left behind was a white envelope, containing a letter inside and a photo. Lucia's eyes had been fixated on the envelope, had Giove XI chose not to make Soichiro his heir? Whatever, it was none of her business. "My boy will make you proud. Just you wait and see..."

Pops.

——————

Three hours later, Soichiro and his friends had arrived to his home. Soichiro, Hotaru, Yoruichi, and Lucci had been celebrating the success of Soichiro's baking. "Boss, you gotta make some cookies for us! It'd be compensation, ya know?" Yoruichi said to Soichiro, and the 13-year old boy was concerned by this. HE HAD TO PAY YORUICHI FOR STAYING IN NAMIMORI? "Why didn't I think of that!", he shrieked in his head before pulling out his wallet. He desperately searched for yen that would satisfy Yoruichi. Sadly, he failed to see that Yoruichi was telling a joke. Yoruichi, being the "right hand" of Giove Dodicesimo, tried to make him realize it was just a joke. "Calm down, boss! I was kidding!", Yoruichi said to Soichiro and forced him to take his money back. Hotaru couldn't help but laugh at their little squabble, it was just ironic. "You'd two would make the weirdest brothers." Hotaru said before laughing once more. They left the two boys staring at each other and grinned. Lucci was eating a bowl of vanilla ice cream in the kitchen, unaware of Hotaru's teasing, and day-dreamed of eating all the ice cream in the world. That dream will come true, one day. Hoshika entered the kitchen with the three teenagers and looked at Lucci with a confused look. "I thought I told you to eat healthy snacks. You can't keep eating sweets, you know." Hoshika warned him of the potential to get a cavity that will have all of his teeth removed. Lucci ignored her and kept eating his ice cream, only to feel pain in his teeth. He dropped his spoon on the table, "Ow!" He yelled. "Told you." Hoshika said before taking the bowl of ice cream and rolling her eyes. Hoshika turned to face the trio of teenagers and gave them a small smile, "another mafiosi will be coming here in 10 minutes. Do not just stand there, go clean your room! You should have fun while he stays in Japan." Hoshika said as the trio walked up the stairs to Soichiro's room. He opened the door and Hotaru saw the most unbelievable things he had in his room. Posters of Kangaroos punching people were on his walls, his Playstation was playing a YouTube video on horses, and a board game had been thrown on his bed. "Yoruichi, you left him alone for a DAY and his room is a gigantic mess." Hotaru complained and forced their body to help clean Soichiro's floor of dirty clothes, games that are probably destroyed, and Yoruichi mopped the floor of his room. He left his friends mesmerized by his handiwork, the floor was shining so bright that they had to exit the room for a little while.

At the door step of Soichiro's home, there stood a young man. He was wearing a grey sweatshirt that had the number "12" on the front, a black sweatband had been on his right wrist, and his pants were just jeans but black. His short black hair had spiked in almost all directions, so it would be wise to not put a hand on his hair. His green eyes had darted around; Had he been nervous? Well, who wouldn't? Being asked to go to the home of one of the most huge and powerful families is just exhilarating. He hadn't known what he did to deserve this kind of treatment, was it because he helped that old lady cross the streets of Italy so many times? Well, it is what it is. Can't change what was happening now. "Come on, Oddy. You can do this.", He thought to himself before knocking on the door. A bunch of voices could be heard yelling at each other to be quiet. Hushed whispers were heard from his ears, were they expecting him? Yes, they were. A woman, somewhere in her 40's, opened the door and welcomed him with a big "surprise!". The rest of her family welcomed him with a huge smile and waved at him. They had been this happy to see a new face? His green eyes darted to Soichiro, who had been standing next to Yoruichi. "Welcome to our home. I heard you'll be staying here from my mom for a while. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Soichiro. The blonde next to me is Yoruichi, one of my closest friends. Same goes for Hotaru, another of my closest friends." Soichiro finished his words with a quick bow, leaving the new person confused on how to show his gratitude for the introduction. "My name is Odysseus, a mafiosi-in-training. I appreciate you welcoming me into your home.", Odysseus said and repeated the bow that Soichiro made. The young boy smiled and guided Odysseus down to the basement, where his room will be for the time being. Everyone else had been chatting about various topics, some including Soichiro, some including makeup, and others being arguments about ice cream.

——————

Renovatio stood in the streets of Namimori. He had been on a job: Find whoever was apart of the cult and interrogate them. It wasn't to protect Soichiro, if we are being honest. He was only doing this because he saw it as an opportunity; A kind of opportunity that will make anyone's  blood boil with excitement. Speak of the devil, he saw a robed figure a few meters away from his current position and walked to them. His footsteps gave off the cold, soft and deadly sounds to the robed person ahead of him. Under their hood, they were sweating uncontrollably. This is the greatest hitman on the planet, who wouldn't be afraid of this man? He was pure black air force energy! Anyways, Renovatio had gotten behind them and his magnum was aimed for the back of their head, "One false move and you can say goodbye to your cranium. I have a few questions that will be required for you to answer, if you have an objection then say it now and I will end your suffering." Renovatio said with a casual tone. He said it as if this was something he does on a daily basis. He moved his magnum into the back of his prisoners head, clearly showing he is not bluffing. "F-fine! Please don't kill me! All I know is that Giove XII will be killed at either Simon Middle or Midori Middle! Plea-", he had not been able to finish his sentence because a bullet had been fired through his head. Renovatio watched the body fall onto the ground, no signs of muscle movement. He laughed as he fired a handful of rounds at the body. Let's just say that the police would not be able to make an accurate classification of the victim's face if they ever found the body.

"Simon Middle or Midori Middle? This just makes the job easier. Thank you, trash." Renovatio said before walking away with his magnum being hidden in his jacket.

——————

The start of this arc will begin on the next chapter (I think, I dunno.) For the next few chapters, please be advised that I will go absolutely crazy :).

Soichiro: Well, we made a new friend! Welcome Oddy. As you can see right there, we have a GameCube.

Odysseus: Nice. Maybe you should play Sonic Adventures-

Soichiro: you think I haven't? *smirk*

Anyways. See y'all next time.