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FICTION

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Chapter 4: Meet the Gang, Part 1

Bruno Bucciarati could tell that the girl sitting in front of him was incredibly frustrated by recent circumstances.

Sakura Kujo was… interesting. It was the best adjective he could come up with instead of mysterious and odd. Something about her just made him uneasy, and the fact that she was annoyed at him for preventing her from joining Giorno in his trial to join Passione made him even perplexed. How could a girl her age be able to put this much dread in him? Sure, she was a capable fighter thanks to her Stand, but something else just made her have a difficult talker… and bystander in general. She didn't stand out, which made her seemingly harmless to anyone that wasn't subjected to her attention, and she definitely didn't give off that kind of pressure until coaxed by a situation of this kind. But there wasn't much for her to say or do: only recruits of Passione could go and see Polpo. Giorno was joining the gang, and since Sakura wasn't, she wasn't allowed to be given any test, or even help Giorno. It was one of the harsh aspects of recruitment, but also the very element that allowed the group to keep away any lousy members from joining. They needed quality, not quantity. Not when Stands easily make up for the lack of numbers.

"Do you understand that brooding over the situation shall not change how things are, signorina?"

No response at first, or, at least, not beyond a quick glare from her. She truly was a fun individual already.

"I am not expecting that to happen," The plum-haired girl argued. "I am just… frustrated at the fact I am stuck with you."

How rude. He didn't say it, but he definitely felt an urge to make that point clear. To be fair, the small kiosk they had picked to idly wait was particularly quaint. He had picked the place out of random choice rather than an outright interest in it. After the battle he had experienced, he just wanted to rest a fair bit and drink something before going back to business. And he could only 'rejoice' as he was supposed to 'babysit' Sakura for the time being. There was no reason to doubt her maturity at times, but being a moody teen had her behave quite… unnervingly annoying. She didn't make an effort to pester him, but he could tell things were only going to spiral downward until Giorno was done with the test. Fifteen minutes early, he was done drinking his espresso, sighing in disappointment at the lacking taste of the machine-made brew. Standing up, he gave a quick nod at the girl and she silently nodded back before sitting up and following him away from the place.

"Where are we going?"

Bruno hummed. "I have to retrieve a couple of gang members. They are usually out doing their own businesses when there is no mission to deal with as a team. But right now, I believe they would want to be called up so we can prepare a proper welcome to our newest member."

"And I can join?"

"What are the other options?" He argued back, something that Sakura met with a frown.

"Maybe just tell me where Giorno-"

"No. I think we already talked about that," Bucciarati answered calmly, yet holding back some irritation at the resurface of this subject. "Which is why we're now going through this hassle so you can no longer whine about it."

Sakura scoffed. "I'm not whining."

Sure thing. Sure thing.

"By the way, how about you tell me more about yourself?" Bruno quickly changed topic, knowing that it was best to not enable the girl to get more active in her behavior. "Giorno told me his story, but you remained quiet about yourself. How did you end up here in Italy, Sakura Kujo?"

Much to his surprise, the girl remained quiet, actually shifting her attention away from him as they kept on walking around until they arrived to their destination. Bruno was a bit stunned by this lack of response, but agreed to the possibility that she just didn't trust him with the information. Giorno 'gave up' his backstory just to reinforce his good morals despite his aspirations to a criminal organization, and Sakura had no reasons to offer her story to motivate her actions. Not when she already commented that she followed Giorno since 'he is family'. He couldn't argue with that, but the silence just made the entire interest on the topic raise in priority over the many questions that the man had on the curious thing that was Sakura Kujo. Still, his priority was to retrieve two gang members that he knew were wandering around as of this hour.

The first one to catch was currently leaning on one of the corners of a nearby newsagent booth, calmly reading from today's papers and paying little to no attention to those passing by due to the headgear he had on. He was keeping long, silver-like hair divided into spikes that angle outwards or upwards at their ends. His outfit was made by a dark-colored, lapel-less overcoat with laces that crossed his bare chest, dark bell-bottomed pants, and black shoes. He had a slim build, but Bucciarati knew that the man had muscles that had been there since he went through Police Academy way back before ditching his first vocation and joining the Mafia. Leone Abbacchio was someone that Bruno trusted dearly and that he knew would be less fussy to face someone like Sakura rather than be outright subjected to Giorno. The age-gap just made the entire scenario the least worrisome, especially since Sakura wasn't going to join as a member, but as an 'Observer' for the time being.

The quiet posture that the former police officer took broke off as soon as he spotted his boss walk up to him. Headgear was pulled off, and the newspaper was folded and brought to the side to be read later on. A nod, he bowed his head out of respect and normal commitment to the leadership.

"Chief," He greeted somberly, something that Bruno returned with a pleased smile.

"Abbacchio, I see that you already had your afternoon coffee."

Lips twitching, the former law enforcer seemed to focus first on the girl behind his boss rather than the comment he just heard.

"Who is she?"

"An observer. Her cousin will soon join our ranks."

A blink. "I didn't recall Polpo confirming any new member."

"He will pass," Bucciarati reinforced without adding much to it, and he knew that just his words vouching for the matter would be enough to steer away any doubt on the matter. And it did, but only regarding the recruitment.

"Still, why are we picking up brats now?"

Sakura didn't react to this, regarding the man just with a cool look which was ignored by Leone as he inquired about the matter.

"Only if those catch my attention and share some interesting opinion about a potential future mission," The Capo remarked without hesitation. "Which is why I don't need to explain how she is a guest and should be treated as such."

A nod, there was no reason to lament about the disposition if Sakura did nothing to warrant his annoyance. So, Abbacchio decided to test the waters and see how 'screwed' his week was going to be. He reached out for a handshake.

"Leone Abbacchio."

The girl slowly nodded and completed the handshake. "Sakura Kujo."

As they shook hands, the former cop retrieved his palm with a surprised look.

"You sure got a strong hold."

"Dad told me to never give a weak grip in handshakes," The plum-haired teen answered. "Gives off silly first impressions."

A strange smile appeared on Leone's face. "Your father is not wrong."

What an odd interaction? But, then again, Leone was quick to capitulate to children and the fact that Sakura was behaving politely surely played a stronger good impression on him towards her. At least Bruno could say that this first interaction went well, but now he would have to retrieve the next one and that's where things were definitely going to get fairly… problematic.

"By the way, Mista-"

"He was fishing last time I saw him. Should be making his way back to the safehouse at this point," Abbacchio confirmed with a sigh. "Should we go back already or do we try to catch up to him before he gets there?"

A little competition? Was Leone trying to show off some skills to the little girl? Perhaps he had underestimated the man's interest to play on children's interest for sudden actions. Sakura was still clueless on what the two meant, but she still trusted Bruno about it as he decided to go for the second option. What followed next was a faster walk through the streets to try and 'catch' the last 'errand' member so they could get back to the headquarters. The real issue about the current disposition of their last 'missing' member was tied to what task he was given and how he had definitely skipped it if he was around dilly-dallying. After twenty minutes of searching, they managed to find him and he was holding a fishing rod on one side and a bucket with fishes on the other.

Guido Mista was the one that was known to spend money and time on frivolous things. In fact, it was a well-stated fact that he spent a lot of money in fashion, hence why he usually wore his uniquely shaped headgear with a diagonal grid pattern and the front shaped like an arrow pointing downward. His hat was particularly essential to his line of work since it was there where he would leave his ammunition as he 'did not like having his hands constantly busy holding something'. His attire consisted of a turtleneck crop top sweater with a design similar to his hat, zebra striped leather pants, a thick belt, and black-&-red boots.

"Oh, hello chief! I made some good gains today-"

"Weren't you supposed to be at the headquarters keeping watch on Fugo and Narancia?" Bruno interrupted the happy gangster with that stern question. "God knows what they did while you were out."

As if realization struck from nowhere, having forgotten why that job is as important as annoying, the young man panicked.

"Chief, I swear- I thought they were doing fine. Fugo didn't plan to give any lessons, and Narancia was sleeping when I left."

Then there was a chance things were going to be that dreadful. Their return to the base wasn't as quiet as before, with Mista actually doing what Bruno had expected him to. And that was pestering Sakura. At first it was just a jovial introduction which was met by the more tame response from the girl, but the young man was, of course, interested to dig more info to their current guest. Where did she come from? Why was she tied to them now? Who was her cousin? Why was her cousin named after 'Day'? And things of this very degree. Nothing unusual. But it still irked the young Stand User a lot from the way she reacted to this. After getting back 'home', Bruno gave a thorough look to check on the two 'volatile' members of the team. Much to Bucciarati's relief, Fugo was in the living room finishing his usual rage over the paperwork. Considering his excellent education, he was capable of handling some of the bureaucracy that Bruno himself wasn't prepared for. It was enough to deter him from seeking other activities, especially things tied to Narancia. Speaking of the boy, he was still napping from the looks of it and thus it gave him the chance to set their guest up for the time being.

Sakura was given a room among those that weren't used. Knowing Polpo, the test was going to find a closure just the next day. It was going to be interesting, but overall it was best to rest for now. The girl was given the keys to the room, told the general schedule of the bathroom's turns after dinner and given the choice to pick which delicacy she could get for dinner. One thing that made Bruno particularly unusual among other chiefs of the districts was his propensity to cooking. It was so unusual, and yet it fit well with the idea that his subordinates could hardly handle a stove even in the situation where their lives depended on it. There wasn't much to be troubled about as the members seemed to click well with the girl, especially with how polite and 'moderate' she was with her usual quirks. There was still a sense of distrust that was quickly picked by Fugo, something that got him in a conversation about 'who did Bruno bring home? And why did she look ready to snap at them at the wrong move?'. A strange discussion, but one he felt rightfully confused about. Hopefully Giorno will be able to give them some input on the matter.

Still, who is Sakura Kujo?

"I'll be fine, father."

Caren Hortensia never thought this day would have come. And yet, it happened. She was going somewhere to check on her friend, and her father was already worried due to some 'flimsy' matters. It wasn't like dealing with the Mafia was really something that terrifying… right? After all, they were several steps above some thugs.

"I don't doubt your skills, Caren," The priest assured while walking her to the train. "But I remind you that Sakura got involved in something that I might have troubled helping you with and-"

"You're worried I will stumble onto something I'm not prepared for. Which is alright as I don't plan to risk myself during this jovial trip with my friend," She agreed without skipping a beat, and yet her words hardly cracked Kirei Kotomine's concerns. "Plus, if push comes to shove, I will just move to pull Sakura out of the way."

"And any others?"

"If they didn't do anything to deserve my care? They wouldn't matter. Sakura does the most right now."

Fierce loyalty for someone that would do the same for her. There is no doubt in her heart that Sakura was the closest thing she had to a sister. It was someone she trusted, that she loved dearly and to the fullest. If she was in trouble, then Caren would rush up to help her up. It was her duty, her prerogative.

"That's rather passionate of you."

Caren paused, a frown landing on her face as she finished hearing those words. 'Passionate'? She was only being truthful about it.

"What specifically? Caring for a friend?"

"Going out of your way, putting your life in danger- This is quite odd for someone like you?"

"That's because it's Sakura," The girl argued back, as if bringing up an absolute fact. "She is my best friend, father. And if anything happened to her, I would be rather crossed with the poor soul that decided to cast itself unto the oblivion born from my machinations."

Kirei stared at his daughter for a while and… he smiled. He reached out and Caren almost leaned forward as she recognized what he was planning to do. His hand landed atop her head and caressed there.

"I will not doubt your intentions and skills, daughter of mine. But remember to be wary of trouble. Contact me if needed."

She nodded. "I won't forget this. And… dad?"

His posture tightened. "Yes, Caren?"

"I will call from time to time. Just to… not make you worry too much."

A nod. "Thank you, daughter."

The train was soon to start going and, after an awkward and brief hug, the girl boarded it through the nearest entry point and sought a seat for herself. No one tried to sit anywhere near her. Maybe it was because the train itself was empty and thus allowing the few people using it to take some 'private' seats for themselves… but it didn't matter.

She had her luggage set down, some magazines to read as she went through the hassle of the trip and made plans about what kind of possible 'group' Sakura was currently facing. Good people? Neutral individuals? She doubted those were bad individuals, not when Sakura could pick up that kind of trouble quite easily. Caren hummed as she noticed that she received a new message from the girl she was thinking about, with the plum-haired teen sending her… pictures of the gang members she was currently living with. She had already seen Giorno's appearance, so she wasn't really that surprised by it, but Caren stopped over one in particular that caught her attention. Eyes slowly widening, she couldn't help but actually frown at the specific picture.

'Leone Abbacchio'.

Have I seen this man before?

It was clear she had seen this face before. But where? And why did it seem so familiar so suddenly?

Instead of brainstorming this any further as she couldn't recollect any thoughts tied to this, the white-haired girl forwarded the picture and the name to her father in a single message.

'Is he someone tied to the Hortensia?'

Maybe it was a wrong assumption, but Caren had been told many times now that anyone that lived in Italy with silver-hair and golden eyes was possibly tied to the Hortensia family. It was such a rare feature that it was even more common than finding out they were from a foreign family. Maybe she found a part of the family she had seen before somehow? More questions, but her father had yet to visualize the message. He probably left his phone back home… and he was going to serve a function just after dinner, so he was going to turn up around midnight or even later if he was asked to deal with the midnight function. Well, she hoped that the next day was going to bring her some new clues on the matter. After yawning and shifting herself comfortably with the Shroud of Saint Magdalene, Caren started to rest but not outright sleep. Eyes open, but close to actually shut completely, the girl pondered on the next few days. Was this the adventure she had been waiting for?

She really hoped so, she really wanted to do something 'different' than the usual trip around the peninsula.

AN

And so the 'changes' starts. Sakura was prohibited from taking part in the test because it would invalidate it for Giorno. So, he does what he knows best: being as 'mom' as EMIYA.

REVIEW Q&A!

Guest (Chapter 3): The sequel will have some shenanigans a la FGO. But an outright FGOxJojo xover? I have four-five omakes on Absolute Divinity where the 'twins' summon several Jojos plus Dio Joestar (MC of the story).

BBMakiri: He'll leave, but not after gauging Giorno through the Black Sabbath situation.

Nantono: Considering that the changes at the beginning are minimal, it's clear that things are similar early on. The differences start now with this arc.

Adriannyel22: Shirou will not appear in this story. Or have a Stand. He will appear in the sequel, and his role and dynamics around Sakura will be… 'different'.