“ WELL, I’M NOT SURPRISED that you killed him. He seems like … a piece of work, so to speak. ”
———❝ IF IT WERE UP TO ME… he would still be alive. ❞ crouched beside the body in question, the man flipped open the wallet he’d just procured off his person. lorenzo ricci. a former passione soldato and defected drug smuggler. lifting from his position, he offered the other the drivers license.
❝ doesn’t give us much on his partners, not that i believed he would snitch even after all of that. ❞
Golden sparkles and lights – this seemingly natural glow to his figure. Giorno had this mask of sorts, clung to his emotions as he went from a void to something more playful. It was the very persona that he played up for the camera – held over this guise of a true gangster. “I’m not sure about that, amico. Perhaps I’ll come back when the Grande Ufficio di Bruno is less busy, hm?”, he spoke with a sly smile.
———❝ YOU MAKE THE TITLE SOUND SO DIGNIFIED. in fact, i nearly forgot how it is i spend my days. ❞ smiling, the man brushed a bit of hair behind his ear. something about how the other carried himself felt different, many months past the fatal usurpation of the former boss. he’d never considered the other a dishonest person; the word did not sit properly. rather, giorno was more… inward. what truths he kept, he kept under lock and key. a safe does not necessarily lie about what valuables it holds — it just doesn’t tell you.
❝ the tide is falling. i assume you’ll not be joining me on the water today, don giovanna? ❞
“Work like this is dangerous when you’re alone. I would like to join your team, if you’d let me.”
She folds her hands on the table, eyes focused unwavering on his face, waiting for some kind of reaction to get a reading from.
———THE REACTION SHE WAS WAITING FOR MAY NOT HAVE BEEN THE ONE HE WOULD GIVE HER. devoid of expression, the man’s unwavering gaze almost detracted from the silence between them.
❝ you wish to join my team? ❞ he nearly smiled, resting his cheek in his hand. it was an interesting request, to say the least, and not exactly what he had expected from her.
“A,y ay! Buccellati!” Narancia runs to his capo, grinning ear to ear. “Didja hear th’ news? It’s gonna RAIN all week! I fuckin’ love the rain – what’s your favourite weather time again?” did he ever ask him about that before? No? Well – Narancia has to know more about his hero.
———IT WAS AN EARNEST QUESTION. the man set down his folded paper, drinking from the warm lip of his porcelain mug. though he considered it kind, the rain outside their window after a long dry spell, a week of rain seemed to furrow his brow.
❝ perhaps i am a boring person, but i can’t complain about a sunny day. ❞
——— IT HAD BEEN MONTHS SINCE HE’D DIED. since the both of them had died. he still feels something in his chest, he feels fucking sand in his chest, he doesn’t know what he feels anymore. it’s hard to breathe, sometimes. even harder still to stand. yet… he was alive.
he takes in a breath. it’s shaking. he’s surprised he isn’t shaking. he closes his eyes for a moment as buccellati asks him how he’s feeling, and laughs.
❝ i feel like i died, buccellati.
❞ he mutters. lifts a hand up and drags it down his face.
❝ i feel like my heart isn’t real. i… i don’t fucking know anymore.
❞
———HAD IT NOT BEEN POINTED OUT, his death might have escaped him entirely. eyes fluttering, the man rested his head on two fingers, alert yet waning. he moved his hand to the side of the bed where abbacchio sat propped, brushing down the creases.
❝ this might be the first time i’ve heard you concerned about whether or not you were alive. ❞ the bluntness of the statement forced the man’s grip, tightening over a desire to stay his mouth. when had he become so careless with his words? had empathy been lost over these months alone…?
❝ i was starting to think we’d both rot away here while you slept. ❞
A guffaw escaped from him as he rose from his seat. This guy needed to phrase things better, but he had already made a terrible decision. Or was it he who made the terrible decision? He’d find out soon enough.
“If you’re obligated to wipe shit off, then you’d better start wiping.”
Was he actually going to fight this guy? Most likely not, but he hoped the act would get the guy to back off.
———HIS INTEREST WAS SOON TURNING TO PLAIN IRRITATION. over a mere accident, the situation had escalated and the scene had been made. now, all that mattered to him was muzzling a dog off its a leash.
❝ your next actions should be chosen wisely. ❞ he approached the man, eyes cold and expression devoid of any indication he would hesitate. face to face now, his only saving grace was the stage. as much as he hated causing trouble in public, the area was relatively empty.
❝ now, either walk away or hit me if you wish to die. ❞
✿ “–Oh!! Is that so? What a relief…” She’d been living in the area for quite some time, and yet here she was, still fretting over such small details. “I’ve been staying here for around… two years now, I think.” at the tail end of her high school graduation, her passion for art had won out against her parent’s initial reluctance, leading her to stay at her grandparents while she studied abroad as a college art student.
Not that she could ever bring herself to fault them, of course– she knew perfectly well that they were only looking out for her, and that they were worried about her employment. “It’s been a while, and yet I still find myself blown away by the city every single day. I’m really glad to have come here!” Mio giggles to herself, flashing the man a sunny grin.
“And how about you, sir? How long have you been living in Naples?”
———❝ THIS COUNTRY HAS ALWAYS BEEN MY FLESH AND BLOOD. however, only in the past decade or so have i been living in naples. ❞ he smiled at the woman’s eager curiosity, her eyes relaying just how mesmerized she was despite her years living here. the man knew many of the city’s inhabitants, their seniority in the community often placing them at the forefront when business called. though she was relatively new to the picture, the eye drew itself to those who stood out. he’d merely struck up a conversation on instinct alone.
❝ it’s funny you say that, though… ❞ often times, one had to take into account how the world viewed his humble home.
❝ it was my understanding that naples has a pretty bad reputation? ❞
“… instead of making pointless threats and ruining my only set of clothes in this country with my coffee, you could just strike me down with whatever you’ve got for looking, right here and right now.”
———HIS GAZE REMAINED EVEN. though he considered himself a fair man, the fact that the other seemed keen on a fight despite his best efforts… that intrigued him.
❝ there is no punishment for looking, per se. it’s more the fact i’m obligated to wipe shit off my shoe if i step on it and it sticks. ❞
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