The sun's rays had politely awoken the boy as his emerald eyes slowly opened up. He had a blue ladybug themed blanket along with gold accents, something his father demanded to be professionally made for him. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly arose, his small feet hitting the soft carpet as he looked around for his father.
"Padre?" He called out for the vampire, to whom would usually show up in Giorno's room by now. However, there was no response.
The small blonde twisted the doorknob of his room and quickly made his way out of it, beginning to breathe a bit heavily in fear. There was no sign of his father. He ran as fast as his little feet could take him, almost tripping over himself as he stood in front of his father's room. He didn't hesitate to open the door, looking around with a panicked expression on his face.
"Padre!" He called out once more, struggling to climb onto his father's bed from how large it was. His fingers gripped onto red silk blankets until he had finally climbed onto the center of the bed.
There was no sign of his father. The boy began to cry helplessly, falling forward onto the expensive bedding in defeat. His tears darkened the silk as he cried, worried for his father to whom was all he had in his life. His head perked up when he heard the door open, and a long and dark shadow casted over the boy as he screamed in horror.
His emerald eyes widened. He began to breathe heavily in fear, his body freezing.
Was this shadow the one who took his father away from him?
Suddenly, a soft and sinister voice calls out to the child.
"Giorno," Calling his name is no other than his father himself, to whom folds up a black umbrella and rests it against the wall. He holds a velvet box in his hands, setting it on the nightstand before he makes his way to his son and pulls him in for a tight hug.
"Padre...?" Giorno sniffles before his tears of pain turn into ones of relief, and he moves to hug onto his father tightly. An overwhelming wave of joy came over the boy, and he couldn't stop smiling as he cried.
"It's okay, my child," Dio wipes his tears away, a barely noticeable grin forming upon his lips.
"Padre...," Giorno holds his father in a death grip, refusing to let him go.
"I'm sorry for giving you such a scare this morning. I didn't think you would wake up so early," Dio sighs, disappointed with himself. The vampire surely was smart. It was rare his plans ever went wrong. So when they did, especially when it hurt his son's feelings, it was just enough to slightly sting his heart.
"Where were you...?" Giorno's cries quiet down and he looks upwards at his father with a new curiosity.
"Well, I actually went out to get you a surprise this morning," Dio offers a sweet smile, sliding himself off of the bed and went to grab the velvet box from earlier. He sets it in front of his son. "Open it," He says with an even bigger smile, his fangs shining as he does so.
Upon further examination, the box is a dark shade of magenta and has a gold ribbon tied neatly around it. Giorno pulls on the ends of the ribbon, carefully opening the box. Emerald eyes widened upon revealing what was inside of the box. "Padre! You didn't have to do this," He moves to hug onto his father tightly once more, and his bright smile is enough to light up the room on its own.
"I wanted to do this for you, my son," Dio smiles back at his child, giving him just as tight as a hug back before letting go. "Go ahead and take him out,"
Giorno nods his head before hugging a large ladybug stuffed animal close to his body, unable to control his joyful laughter. "I'm so happy with this! Thanks, Dad!"
"Of course, Giorno," He nods his head, feeling an even bigger grin form on his lips. Giorno surely wouldn't notice it now, but on the stomach of the ladybug plush, a note was written.
"A gift for my lovely son, Giorno Giovanna Brando. From your father to whom loves you very much, -DIO"
Giorno opens the large doors to Dio's balcony before running straight onto it. "I want to go outside, Dad! I want to play with him!" He continues to smile, playing with his ladybug on the rail of the balcony.
"...Why don't you stay right there?" Dio stays seated on the bed, unable to go outside because of the sun. It'd burn his skin. "Ladybugs really like balconies, don't you know?"
"Oh," Giorno's smile fades temporarily before returning to his face. "Well, okay! Let's just play here,"
And for the golden haired boy created endless adventures with his imagination, painting a new picture in his mind with every word he spoke. "Be careful, don't fall! You can do it, just ten more seconds!" He called to the plush.
Dio was sitting at his desk as Giorno played on the balcony, not listening to what he was saying at all. He began to write a letter of some sorts, completely oblivious to what was going on.
"Wait, no! You'll fall!" He calls out before it happened. Giorno was trying to balance his plush on the rail, before it had slid off and fell about ten meters below. He couldn't help but to frown at that before running to his father, pulling at his mustard colored jacket. "Padre, Padre help!" He cried out helplessly, his emerald eyes glazing over with tears.
"Huh, what is it?" Dio stopped writing his letter, turning his head towards his son.
"He fell! He was trying to balance, but he fell off!" Giorno sounds panicked as he speaks, continuing to frown. "Help, Padre!"
Dio grimaces. He can't go out into the sunlight, as it will burn his skin. His umbrella was far too sheer to go out into a sun burning as brightly as today's was. And he surely didn't want his son going out there alone, Italy could be a dangerous place.
So he takes in a swallow, feeling that nasty feeling form in his stomach before quietly muttering;
"Okay," He nodded his head, before the two could hear a knock at the door.
"...Who is it, Dad?" Giorno whispers.
"Stay here, Giorno," Dio places a kiss on his son's head before making his way to the front door. In his mind, everything else in the world was a threat to his son expect for him. He would do everything to protect him in his power, no matter what it may be. He twisted the doorknob, before being met with another young boy.
He wears a white jacket with black spots decorating it neatly. His hair is cut into a short bob, his bangs split down the middle. He has beautiful, bright ocean eyes. He offers a polite smile as he holds the flat ladybug plush in his hands. "Excuse me, sir... Does this belong to you?" He questions before handing it back to Dio.
"Yes... It belongs to my son, actually," Dio's red eyes narrow. He is confused as to why this boy does not feel threatened by the vampire himself. Grown men had run off screaming upon seeing him... Yet this child, to whom looked about only eleven years old, wasn't even phased by him. It caused the man to feel afraid of the boy, the opposite effect of what he wanted. Dio's eyes travel back further, specifically to the other side of the sidewalk. There is a group of more children, watching over the black haired boy as he spoke to the vampire. The tallest boy has longish silver hair, crossing his arms as he glares directly into the man's eyes. Beside him stands three other boys. Standing on the right side of the silver haired boy is another child with sun-kissed skin. He wears a purple colored beanie along with a teal colored shirt. The boy gives a bright smile, waving to the blonde before running to the other side. Dio can no longer see him. Taking the place of where that boy was standing before is two other boys, to whom look just a bit younger than the rest. Standing together is another child with spiky blonde hair, a black haired boy hiding behind him.
"My name is Bruno. It is nice to meet you, sir," The kind boy extends his hand forward, wanting to shake hands with the blonde man.
'Someone seems to be a little protective...' The vampire thinks to himself, his sharp eyes narrowing once more. "...Nice to meet you too, Bruno. You can call me Dio," He shakes hands with the boy, though hesitates upon doing it. It causes Bruno to lose his smile, wearing a now confused expression.
Continuing to behind the blonde is another child that Dio only saw for a second. A boy with messy black hair and an orange headband.
Before he knows it, Dio can hear quick little footsteps running down the stairs of his mansion. "Padre! Are you okay?!" He almost stumbles over by the time he meets Dio, emerald eyes widening upon seeing Bruno.
"H-Hey... Another kid!" He smiles brightly, his emerald eyes glistening upon seeing the sight. "How old are you?"
"Giorno-" Dio reaches out for his son's shirt, wanting to drag him back and not allow him to talk to Bruno. However, for the first time, Giorno pushes his father's hand out of the way.
"I am eleven years old. How about you?" Bruno offers a sweet and comforting smile, his ocean eyes meeting with emerald ones.
"I'm six!" He smiles big, stepping outside with him.
It was as if an alarm had set off inside of Dio's head. He felt his adrenaline kick on upon seeing his Giorno step outside and talk with a boy he had an uneasy feeling about. "Giorno! Come back here!"
"I want to play with him, Padre!" Emerald eyes dropped and became saddened.
"...Hey, it's okay," Bruno sets a comforting hand on Giorno's back, not wanting the boy to feel bad as he slowly forms a frown. "Look, um... Mr. Dio, I think it was. Your son seems really eager to play with other children. Would it be possible if he could join my gang?"
Gang. Gang. The word ran throughout every single cell of Dio's body. What did he mean by a gang? A group of friends, or being involved in actual gangs? Whichever meaning he intended it to be, it didn't sound good to Dio. "...I'm not sure if I can quite trust you yet, young Bruno,"
"...I'm sure you can trust us just fine!" The boy with the purple beanie steps up and takes Giorno's hand, dragging him fully outside. "My name's Guido Mista. I'll make sure to watch over your Giorno, okay? He and I were talking from your balcony! He wants to play with us,"
"...Wwwwrrrryyyyyyy!!!!" Dio hisses, his dark red eyes staring directly into Mista's soul. "What do you think you're doing?! That is my Giorno! Do you really think I am going to listen to some stupid child?! Let go of my son right now!!"
Mista immediately breaks out into a sweat, his hand letting go of Giorno's hand. "Well, I... I wasn't trying to cause any harm! I was just trying to help!"
"Leave him there," A deeper voice calls out behind Bruno, belonging to the silver haired boy. He crosses his arms again, and upon further inspection... This boy has a mix of purple and hazel colored eyes. "If his father doesn't accept us, don't force it. Parents know best, after all,"
"...Parents...," The small black haired boy repeats the word, his amythest eyes dropping and a frown formed upon his lips quickly.
"Good job, Leone! You've hurt Narancia's feelings!" The spiky haired blonde barks at the silver haired boy quickly, and the gang all begins to argue with each other.
It surely caused Dio to shut up. He blinked a few times upon watching them all interact with each other. This was surely going to be quite the bizarre adventure... And the beginning of a golden wind.