"Ah, you're back!" Nadia chimed as Lucio and Emily opened the door. The girl looked down at the floor with a grim expression on her face.
"We are, and all in one piece," Lucio chuckled. "Plus, we have some info about the death of Mista."
"Really?" Nadia raised an eyebrow. "Well...?"
"I should... probably let Emily tell you," Lucio's grin immediately faded. "She's the one who got the information in the first place."
Oh, gee, thanks, Emily thought to herself. She picked her head up, and took a deep breath. "There was a letter in the bushes," she answered. "I forgot who was put down as the recipient, but I remember one line of it."
"Where's the letter?" Nadia asked. "And what did that line say?"
"It's not with us," Emily sighed. "I'll tell you more about that later. But I do know that the letter said that whoever killed Mista was on a mission to take Gionna's life, and was instructed to kill anyone else in their way."
The room suddenly became very still. Everyone turned their attention to Gionna, who was sitting at a table by herself. The girl was halfway through clipping a nail, but she was completely frozen at the moment.
"Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Gionna asked as she continued her nail clipping. Her voice was wavering the slightest bit. "I'm fine. I've dealt with this before. Nothing new." Once she finished the nail, she got up and started walking down the hallway.
"Really?" Lucio asked. "You're shaking pretty bad."
Gionna stopped and looked down at her arm. Sure enough, it was trembling violently. She looked back up at Lucio with a glare. "I thought you were a bodyguard, not a therapist," she snapped. "Mind your own business and go flirt with some girls, or something."
As she stormed to her room and slammed her door, Lucio shouted back, "I flirt with boys, too, you know!" He looked over to Nadia and Marco, both of which were giving him looks of disapproval. "Can you believe that girl?" he continued. "Being Don Giovanna's daughter really gets to her head."
"I know she's not a perfect little child, but everyone's a little... bratty at her age," Nadia replied. "And you really should apologize, since you did hurt her feelings."
"I'm not apologizing," Lucio huffed. "I said what I said and I don't feel bad about it."
"Then I'll go apologize for you," Nadia said, and left for Gionna's room. "It's not wise to make an enemy out of the boss's daughter."
"I'll come to apologize, too," Emily said. "This is kind of all my fault."
"See, Lucio? This is what you should do," Nadia called back. Once they reached Gionna's door, they lightly knocked on it. "Gionna? Can we come in?"
No answer.
"If you don't answer, I'll have to assume you might have been taken away, and I'll have to come in to make sure you're safe."
Still no answer.
Nadia sighed, and slowly opened the door while Emily peered in from the side. The room was very dark, and the only sound was short, staggered sobs coming from a lump underneath the covers in the bed.
"Oh, poor girl," Nadia said. They sat down at the foot of the bed, while Emily stood right beside the door. "I'm sorry about Lucio. He doesn't mean any harm, he just doesn't think before he speaks."
"I'm sorry, too," Emily added. "I didn't think about you when I announced that. I'll be more mindful next time."
"Go away," Gionna mumbled.
"This situation must be scary, I'm sure," Nadia replied. "But at the very least, I can promise that no assassin will come anywhere near you. You were put in with a group that Don Giovanna was sure could protect you, and I know each one of us would give our lives to do so."
"I said go away."
"Okay, okay," Nadia chuckled. They nodded at Emily, who nodded back and left the room. "You know where to find us if you need anything."
As Nadia closed the door, they returned to the kitchen, where everyone else was waiting.
"So, Lucio told Marco the rest of what happened while we were away," Emily told Nadia. "The basic summary is that my dad found us and tried to bring me back home, but Lucio bargained with him and we agreed to fight in order to get the letter back from him."
"That means we need a Stand best suited for taking down Emily's dad's," Lucio continued. "What are his abilities?"
"Well, for starters, Hierophant Green is a long-range Stand," Emily started. "It can possess people if it enters their body, and can also produce emeralds to shoot with. It can unravel into strings, which it can use to attack, as well. Those strings can also act as a tripwire to activate its emerald attack or to simply shoot them from all around the enemy."
"It sounds like your father can attack from any angle," Marco spoke up. "If so, then my Stand is the best fit for the job."
Emily looked around the room, and both Nadia and Lucio were nodding their heads.
"I was just about to say that Marco should go," Nadia said.
"Yeah, I wasn't really worried about who was going to fight him," Lucio replied. "What I'm most worried about is the part of the letter that Emily read. I mean, we've had to save Gionna from kidnappings before, but I've never heard about anyone trying to kill her."
"You haven't?" Emily asked. "I thought that since she was a mafia boss's child, she-"
"Would be a target for obtaining money from that boss, yes," Nadia said. "You can't really threaten a parent with a dead child. You can threaten them with a missing child. Lucio is right, this letter is different."
"This person is either really stupid, or they're trying to obtain something other than money," Lucio added. "My guess is that they want to break Don Giovanna. They want to break his spirits, then take his position from him while he's down."
"I think whoever it is is just stupid," Nadia chuckled. "They probably just want the money, but forgot that ransoms only work if you can actually return the kidnappee."
"Then why did they send an assassin for her?" Lucio asked. "And you of all people should know not to underestimate our enemies. We should always assume the worst when it comes to this."
Nadia sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry."
"Don't sweat it," Lucio smiled. "It's not like we can do anything about it until tomorrow, anyway. In the meantime, I think I should give Emily a little tour around this place."
As Emily rolled her eyes, she felt Nadia place a grip on her shoulder. "I think she needs to hang out with more teammates than just you," they laughed. "I'll show her around. You just get back to what you need to do."
"Thanks," Emily whispered.
"Don't mention it," Nadia whispered back. "All you really need to see is where to bathe yourself and do your laundry, unless you'd like to room with someone other than Gionna."
"My bed is in Gionna's room?"
"She had her objections," Nadia laughed, "but we decided that if you couldn't choose between anyone, it would be best to put you in there. She's getting to that age where she sneaks out at night, and an extra set of eyes would keep her out of trouble."
"Then I guess I'll stay in there," Emily shrugged. "I do have a question, though. What exactly does this group do? Besides protecting Gionna and finding a murderer."
"Well, our group is some of the elite, chosen specifically by Giovanna to deal with his... personal business, for lack of a better term. Usually, that's just boiled down to being Gionna's bodyguards, but sometimes something happens, like a close friend being killed, and we're left to deal with it so Giovanna can still be fully present with Passione's problems."
"So... why am I here? I'm brand-new, so why am I in an 'elite' group?"
"I'm not exactly sure, but my guess is that he has something very important to you that's scaring you into loyalty," Nadia replied. "Something that he holds over your head. That's why he can trust you with his personal business, because if you give away any secrets, he'll do something terrible to whatever it is that you care so much about."
Emily gulped and looked down. Images of her father and her brother flashed in her head.
"Of course, you don't need to worry about anything if you aren't planning on betraying him," Nadia said with a pat on the back. "Anyway, if you want to get comfy in your new room now, you can. I was just trying to get you away from Lucio."
Emily nodded her head, and the two parted ways. The girl opened up Gionna's door again, and the lights were still off. She snuck into the room, and shut the door as quietly as she could.
"Why are you in here?"
Emily quickly turned to the voice, and saw a pouting Gionna staring at her.
"This is my room. Why are you in my room?"
"Well, unfortunately for you, this is my room now, too," Emily replied as calmly as she could. "If you need some more alone time, I'll be out soon."
"You'll be out now."
"You don't get to boss me around just because you're Giorno's daughter. Now I'm going to stay in here longer because you were rude to me."
"What? No! You can't do that!"
"Even longer."
Gionna made a loud and exasperated grunt, then laid back in bed and turned away from Emily dramatically. Emily chuckled a little, then sat down on her own bed. She really didn't want to stay that long, but she also didn't want to be bossed around by a child, so she decided to stay for a minute or two. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Gionna murmur once again.
"I don't want to die."
Emily paused, then sat back down. "Want to talk about it?"
"What am I supposed to talk about?" Gionna asked. "You told me that people want to kill me, and I'm scared. That's it."
Emily patted the girl on the head as she headed out. "Well, just know that I'll give my all to protect you." She left the room, then went back to the kitchen. After she found a chair, she slumped down on it and groaned. "These people are the worst."
***
It was the middle of the night. A near-full moon shone down on the ground, but it was impossible to tell in the room that the figure walked in. On the other side of the room was a woman who looked to be no more than 30, leaning on the walls.
"Well?" she asked.
"They took the bait," the figure replied. "However, there have been some issues. The letter doesn't need to be deciphered anymore. There's a new member of the group, Emily, who can read Japanese. But they do have to fight her father for possession of that letter."
"Do you think he'll read it?"
"Even if he does, he would likely just report it to the police. They'll most likely report it to Giorno, and that's all we need to distract him. His daughter's life will mean more to him than what we're doing. Even so, I suppose you'll send a few Stand users after Gionna, as well, just to solidify your claims?"
"Of course," the woman let out a low laugh. "I mean, if one really does kill her, that would be a plus, right?"
As the figure left the building, the woman spoke once more. "Remember: your job is not to kill Gionna, your job is to spy. Keep an eye on the girl, but don't harm her."
The figure chuckled a bit. "Of course, Don Una."
***
"Emily."
"Emily, wake up."
"If you're late, then we can't get back that letter, you know."
Emily groaned as she stretched in her bed. Her eyes opened to Nadia standing right beside her, nudging her awake.
"Usually, I'd let you sleep in, but it is 11:00," they continued. "Rough night last night?"
"Yeah, it's hard for me to get comfortable in a new bed, and I'm prone to waking up at the slightest noise," Emily groggily replied. She peeled off the warm layer of blankets and hesitantly touched her feet to the cold floor. "It definitely didn't help that Gionna tried sneaking out a couple of times. That window is loud."
"That girl," Nadia murmured underneath their breath, then added in a normal volume, "I'll take care of that. You just worry about getting ready."
Emily nodded, and Nadia exited the room, closing the door behind them. As Nadia reentered the main room, Gionna's face suddenly changed. She looked to the floor, avoiding Nadia's gaze. She must have known Nadia had been updated on her escape attempts.
"Gionna," Nadia sighed, "you know it's dangerous for someone your age to be wandering alone at night, especially with who your father is."
"Well, maybe if I wasn't babied here, I wouldn't want to leave," Gionna retorted.
"We don't baby you," Marco said. "We protect you from enemies."
"Yeah, we let you go wherever you want, so long as one of us is there to keep you safe," Lucio added.
"I don't want one of you there!" Gionna whined. She slammed her hands down on the table, then recoiled from the pain. "I want to be alone, for once in my life, and you made it harder with that new girl in my room!"
"Maybe if you hadn't put yourself in danger before she got here, you could have a room to yourself," Lucio shrugged.
Gionna opened her mouth to respond, but instead just let out a scream. "I hate all of you!" she yelled, and stomped down the hallway back to her room. On the way, she passed by Emily, who watched as Gionna slammed the door shut before turning back to everyone else.
"What's with her?" she asked.
"She didn't like being told she couldn't sneak out at night," Lucio said with a little chuckle. "She is seriously the worst sometimes."
"I'll go check to make sure she's not trying to escape as we speak," Nadia said. "Lucio, please try to leave Emily alone. She just woke up."
"Fine, fine," Lucio grinned. "So, what do you want for brunch? We have cereal, pancake mix, granola bars, and whatever else you want."
"I'll just have a breakfast bar," Emily said. She grabbed one with Sunshine as she opened her phone for the first time that morning. Two new messages showed up in her notifications, both from Daichi. Dad told me about everything this morning, one of the messages wrote. Be extra careful, okay? I want to be able to go home with you.
Emily smiled, then sent another text back. Don't worry. I'll stay alive for you ^_^
After that text was sent, a knock was heard from the other side of the front door. Everyone went dead silent. Marco hesitantly approached the window right beside it, sneaking in a way to reduce his sound. He leaned on the blinds, lifting up one by his eyes, then sighed. "It's just Giovanna's bodyguards."
Everyone seemingly melted as they finally allowed themselves to breathe. Marco opened the door, and a man with a black suit bowed. "I've come to pick up Gionna."
"I'll get her," Lucio said. "You two go ahead and get to the meetup spot."
Marco nodded. "Come on, Emily," he said. The girl walked out with him.
"Good luck!" Lucio called out.
As Marco and Emily walked past the guard, Emily asked, "What are those guys here for?"
"Every week, on an unspecified day, Don Giovanna spends the day with Gionna," Marco answered. "It's his way of keeping in touch with his daughter."
"That makes sense," Emily replied.
"Oh, and Emily, I have to get you to promise me something."
"What is it?"
"Promise that you won't interfere with the fight. If either me or your father is in mortal danger, don't start fighting either side. I only say this because... I'm not fully intending to spare your father's life. My goal is to win back that letter, not to keep him alive."
Emily gulped. "I don't know if I can promise that, but I'll do my best, so long as you promise to do everything you can to keep him alive."
"I will," Marco replied. "I made these white flags yesterday that means the other side admits defeat. I don't know if your dad will actually use it, though."
"Wait, you made those?" Emily asked. "That's... actually pretty cool."
Marco instinctively looked down. "It's not that cool," he mumbled. "I didn't even dye them."
"You can dye them, too?" Emily exclaimed.
"It's just a pastime," Marco continued. "I like dying fabrics, that's all."
"Don't sell yourself short," Emily chuckled. "That's a really useful talent you have there."
Marco didn't say anything else, but he turned away from his teammate to smile.
After the two walked for a little longer, they stopped at the park where they were supposed to meet Kakyoin.
"Do you have the time?" Marco asked Emily. "I didn't bring my phone because I didn't want it to be crushed."
"It's about 11:40," Emily replied. "Dad should be here soon."
Marco nodded, and looked out to the horizon. "Speaking of, I think he arrived early like we did."
Emily looked, and sure enough, her father's familiar silhouette was approaching. She could suddenly feel her heart beating harder as his figure started becoming more recognizable.
"You're here awfully early," Marco shouted.
"I could say the same to you," Kakyoin shouted back. "Since we're both here, I suppose we should start the fight."
"You're forgetting something."
Kakyoin furrowed his brow, then made an ah! noise. He summoned Hierophant, then brought the letter over to Emily, standing to the side. Immediately, she started to read the rest of it.
"There's one other thing," Marco said. He tossed a white flag over to Kakyoin. "If you need to surrender before you die, toss this flag. I'd rather not kill you, and I assume you'd rather not kill me."
Kakyoin nodded as he examined the piece of cloth and put it in his pocket. "So, are we ready now?"
"I suppose so," Marco nodded. "But I can guarantee you won't hit me."
"We'll see." Kakyoin narrowed his eyes. "Hierophant Green!" he called out, and the Stand sent a barrage of emeralds towards the boy before him. Marco stood where he was, not even flinching as the gems flew like gunshots to him.
Suddenly, the emeralds bounced off of a seemingly invisible force before they could hit Marco.
Kakyoin made a small gasp as he quickly had Hierophant get in front of him with its arms covering its chest, while discreetly shooting strings around the area.
"That position won't help you," Marco said. "Invisible Touch may seem purely defensive at first, but it has potential for offense, too." As he talked, it looked like a light pink filter was taken off of a picture around the boy.
This is my chance! Kakyoin thought to himself. In an instant, he had the strings placed around shoot more emeralds, all centering in on his enemy. Marco's eyes widened, and he quickly brought up the filter again, holding his hands out. This time, Kakyoin saw the emeralds hit around the pink-tainted area, forming small cracks in the surface.
"So, your Stand is a shield?" Kakyoin asked. He brought his strings back, but kept Hierophant close.
"I'll let you believe what you want," Marco replied. He looked up at Kakyoin with a dangerous smile on his face. His shield went down again, and he jumped into the air. Before he landed on the ground, however, his shield appeared beneath his feet. He leaped off of the platform, and it disappeared before a new one manifested where he was. He repeated this, going higher and higher, until he was directly above Kakyoin. Once he was there, he expanded the platform just enough so he wasn't precariously balancing on it.
So it seems like he can only make one shield at a time, Kakyoin thought to himself. Unfortunately for you, a high altitude won't help. He shot Hierophant straight up to the boy above him, but Marco still stood, unwavering. As the Stand curled around the platform and was almost just above it, Marco flicked his finger up, and an extension of the platform suddenly blocked Hierophant's way. It was too late for it to move, so it collided with the new wall, leaving a crack where it was.
Down on the ground, Kakyoin suddenly found himself in a daze, teetering back and forth. Marco saw the man struggling to stand, and decided to make his move. He lowered the wall and jumped off the platform, extending his foot for a kick. Once his footing was completely off of the platform, he made it vanish and become a floor of spikes directly where Kakyoin would fall. However, as he was shooting downwards, Kakyoin turned to look at the boy with blood dripping down his forehead and a determined fire in his eyes. Hierophant wrapped around its user before firing emeralds straight at the boy. Before Marco could react, he was barraged with gems and fell to the floor.
"The strength of your shield depends on how fast you can visualize it, isn't it?" Kakyoin heaved.
Marco slowly stood up with a scowl on his face. "And what makes you think that?"
"The only time I've cracked it is when you've had to create it on the spot, save for when you were climbing up using the same shape."
Marco let a small smile form. "You're good. If Emily is anything like you, I see why Don Giovanna wanted her on our team."
Speaking of Emily, the girl had just finished reading the letter, and she put it away, breathing heavily. So, now I know all of the information, she thought to herself. Now I just need to hope that Marco wins without killing Dad, and I can relay the entire message to the team.
***
Quiet. That's what described the table best. Giorno and Gionna sat in silence while they ate their food.
"So, I heard you tried sneaking out again," Giorno finally spoke up.
Gionna huffed. "So what?" she asked. "You'll come save me if I get kidnapped." Then, in a hushed tone, she added, "It's all you ever do for me."
"And what if some fools kidnap you, then kill you?" Giorno set his fork down and placed his hand beneath his chin. "You'll be gone, and there will be nothing I can do to reverse it."
"It's better than being locked up in there!" Gionna threw her fork down and stood up. "Plus, there are already people coming to kill me, so what's the difference?"
Giorno immediately tensed up as his daughter clasped her mouth shut.
"What do you mean by that?"
Gionna slowly let her hands come off of her face. "I... I didn't really..."
"Tell me the full truth."
Gionna sighed. There was instantly a change in her face. "When... when Emily and Lucio came back from their mission, they told the rest of the group that they found a letter." As Gionna spoke, her father nodded his head to show he was listening. "The letter was taken up by Emily's dad, but Emily read something that said to kill me." Against her will, Gionna's lip started to tremble, and her voice started wavering. "So, yeah. People want to kill me. So what difference does it make for me to wander around alone?"
Giorno forced his hands to stop shaking as he took a deep breath. "Gionna," he said in the calmest voice he could, "if you go walking around by yourself, you'll be easier to find and track down. If they find out where you're living, then I'll send you to a different squad so you're safe again."
Gionna looked down as her father walked up and bent down to her. "The most important thing to me is your safety," he continued. "Do you understand why I can't let you go out alone?" Gionna didn't answer, and kept her gaze facing down. After a few more moments of silence, he sighed. "If you won't listen to that, then do you at least know where Emily's father is?"
"He's fighting Marco for possession of Emily," Gionna mumbled. "At the park, apparently."
Giorno nodded as he rose to his feet, then looked over at his guards. "Keep Gionna safe," he said. "Don't let her leave while I'm away. I have some business to attend to."
***
Both Kakyoin and Marco flew backwards into the bushes surrounding the pathways. As the two struggled to rise up, they were already on the attack. Kakyoin sent Hierophant's strings towards Marco, while Marco blocked it with Invisible Touch. On the sidelines, Emily was using every ounce of force in her body to keep herself from running up and stopping the fight.
He's hiding something, Kakyoin thought to himself. I have to constantly be on the attack, or he'll use it against me.
Once again, Kakyoin shot a barrage of emeralds towards Marco, only for him to block it. Of course, this time, Kakyoin kept it at a steady flow, making sure that his opponent couldn't let down his shield. While Marco's vision was impaired, Kakyoin sent some of Hierophant's strings into the ground. After a few moments, they popped back up near Marco and wrapped around his neck, squeezing tightly.
Kakyoin stopped the steady flow of emeralds, and stood up straight again. "You were a tough opponent, I'll give you that," he said. "Unfortunately, it seems my battle experience outlives yours. Of course, there is that handy flag you made, if you admit defeat."
Marco let down his shield as he desperately tried to open up an airway for himself, but despite his strained expression, he still had a grin on his face. "You didn't think I would be out of options already, did you?"
Suddenly, Kakyoin noticed the pink filter fill his vision again. This time, though, when he looked around, the filter was all around him. He ran up to Marco, but was stopped by a wall.
"When you asked if Invisible Touch is a shield and I said that I'll let you believe what you want, this is what I meant," Marco continued, his voice straining. "I think of my Stand as more of a barrier than a shield, one that I can move at will."
Before Kakyoin could make another comment, the barrier he was stuck in almost slammed down on him, forcing him to lay on the ground. He could feel his organs being crushed.
"Now who's the one needing to raise his flag?" Marco asked. His face was getting purple. "I can permit anything I want to enter and exist Invisible Touch, so I'll allow your flag to leave if you need to surrender."
"Believe me," Kakyoin coughed, "you'll be the one needing to raise your flag."
Emily watched in horror as the two started to slowly die, each too stubborn to throw their flag. Her father started to spit blood out of his mouth, while her teammate's head continued to turn blue. She almost wanted to look away, but instead she started running up to the battle scene. "Both of you, please stop!" she cried. But as soon as she summoned Sunshine, Marco threw his flag up in the air. Everyone called back their Stands, and the two fighting gasped for air.
"Well," Marco heaved, crouching to the ground, "you win."
"You put up a good fight." Although Kakyoin had the same out-of-breath tone as Marco, he was slowly standing up. "But of course, I'll be taking Emily now. I don't really care about that letter, so you can have it."
As Emily suddenly realized what her father said, she ran over to Marco, who was still trying to catch his breath. "Listen, Marco, I know you're not in the best place to listen to someone, but you have to. I don't have time. The people who killed Mista, they're an assassin duo. I don't know what their Stand abilities are, but there's two of them!"
Once Kakyoin was able to walk again, he had Hierophant grab Emily and drag her away from Marco. "There's two of them, Marco! Don't forget that!"
"Oh, Don Giovanna is going to kill me," Marco murmured.
"Not necessarily," a voice said from behind. "You did your best fighting against him. I can't get mad at you for that."
Marco turned around, and Giorno was standing next to him. "However, I can't let Emily be taken away," he continued, louder so that Kakyoin could hear him. "If she's dragged one more step away from me, I'll consider it a betrayal on her part, and I'll convince the police that you should not only be convicted for murder, but for something so vile you'll never be allowed to see your children again.
Kakyoin stopped, turning around slowly. Emily was frozen where she was, taking short, shallow breaths.
"And why should I give up my daughter again?" Kakyoin asked. "I would rather be stuck in prison for the rest of my life than have her life taken by one of your enemies, which I'm sure you have plenty of."
"Because I'll let you see her every week, to make sure she's safe," Giorno said. "I have a daughter of my own, and I don't get to see her very often. The only time I can see her is on a random day of the week, to keep her safe. If you'd like, you can join us. I know what it's like to be separated from your child, and although I intend for her to complete her duties, I want to relieve your worries as much as I can."
Kakyoin paused, taking in the information. Although Emily was squirming a lot less, he held on to her, as if she would bolt away the minute he let her go. "I suppose I don't have much of a choice, do I?" he chuckled. Finally, he released Hierophant's hold on Emily, and she stayed where she was. "When are you going to meet with your daughter next?"
"Actually, I left our lunch to deal with this matter," Giorno answered. "If you'd like, you can follow me back to where I live."
Both Emily and Kakyoin sighed, one with relief, and one with disapproval.
"Okay," Kakyoin said. "Let's go." As he and Emily were following Giorno, he thought to himself, Don't worry, Emily. I'll get you out of here soon. Just give me time.