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FICTION

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Chapter 15: Crazy Train, Part 3

Prosciutto was no rookie, but he sure felt clueless on what was going on.

Leaving the carriage while making sure that the girl was safe and sound was the first priority. The kid, Sakura, was being targeted. It was clearly her, with Pesci mistaking the attack as one ordained by Bucciarati at first. Not a wrong assumption, and proof that the dumbass still had that very potential that made him worthy of his presence in La Squadra. But while it was the kid and not them the target of this attack, the assassins had seen the duo as collateral damage. Individuals that weren't worthy of living. So, despite the dry opinion of the girl the most experienced of the two had, he was capable of seeing that it didn't matter on the spot. The assassins wanted them dead for merely just being there. But who was attacking them? And how did they track them down when the train was moving? There were no means in sight that would allow any sniper to get to their position without exposing themselves, and that meant only one thing.

Either a Stand or-

CRASH!

Some of the windows crashed in that moment, small creatures that resembled birds with glowing white bodies appeared and were soon targeting them.

Or bullshit. Definitely bullshit.

Pesci reacted nicely, his fishing rod Stand, ｢Beach Boy｣, instantly yanking the closest away and disrupting its effort to concentrate a sphere of light to shot at them before slamming it onto the side of the window, tearing it to pieces, while Prosciutto carefully aimed his revolver at two others, carefully taking them down. ｢Grateful Dead｣ would work well in these conditions, not when they were dealing with abstract creatures that Prosciutto didn't know if those were organic or could even age. So, he decided to rely on his gun for the time being. Still, the two were quick to push one away from the other as the three remaining 'birds' shot at them. One of the small blasts soared over their heads, one slammed on the side, missing Pesci, while the remaining one trailed through the space created by their distance.

They didn't hesitate to resume the carnage, with Prosciutto shooting at one of the remaining creatures while Pesci masterfully yanked at another and slammed it against the last one. It looked like the worst was over, but a new noise of windows being crashed forced the duo to turn around. Not fast enough, Prosciutto realized as one of the shots hit the arm with the revolver. It wasn't a deadly wound, but it instantly forced him to flinch and drop the gun. Prosciutto snarled, with Pesci suddenly tackling him back in the carriage they had left, allowing the birds' shots to miss them.

"P-Prosciutto-"

"I'm fine, get my revolver!"

Brief hesitation flashed on Pesci's face, but the panicking partner managed to use his Stand to retrieve the gun, providing it to Prosciutto just in time as the three birds that attacked them found themselves drilled with bullets. Sighing, Prosciutto glared at his revolver, noticing the chamber was now empty and in need of bullets. He just had twelve of those left. Looking at his condition, he knew better than to assume he was going to be able to be of help with this development, and he knew what he would have to do in order to prevent any issues from happening from this point onward.

"Pesci."

"Yes, Prosciutto? Do you need something or-"

"Check the train."

The green-haired gangster paused. "W-What?"

"I think the assailant is somewhere in the train. There is no way that they are outside the train as we're still moving but… be careful."

"...Got it."

It took him a moment to leave, and for Prosciutto to quickly pull down the curtains before sitting down on the ground right beside Sakura, gun reloaded and ready as he grasped it with his left hand. Not his best hand, but it would do for the time being. And that's when he remembered that there was a kid they were protecting, with the girl still lying under the seat in a fetal position, clutching her pet close to her chest.

Prosciutto wasn't good with children, there was a reason why Pesci was the best choice when talking to those during missions. He tended to behave as stupidly as a brat, making him more relatable to them to a degree. But right now, Pesci was out doing a risky operation, and Prosciutto's pride wouldn't allow him to ask for help anyway.

"How… how are you holding, kid?"

The question came out so dejected that the mafioso flinched at it too. Meanwhile Sakura just hummed and slowly nodded.

"I'm fine. Your wounds-"

"I've experienced worse," He replied quickly. "Plus, these attackers are after you. You should worry about yourself the most."

A frown adorned her face. "But… why can't I worry about others?"

Prosciutto scoffed. "You shouldn't. Not when there's a chance you may end up dead."

"...Are you sure you are well?"

"Yes."

Silence emerged from that harsh response, and Prosciutto felt the need to facepalm for getting riled up due to some kid's genuine concern. It wasn't like he was that prideful, but he could only blame his current injury for turning him so sour so quickly. He thought about the situation some more, wondering if Pesci had it in himself to make it through without getting killed. He had guts and potential, but it takes one mistake to mess things up. And Prosciutto just could tell that their current foe wouldn't just sit down and take that kind of treatment. His thoughts were suddenly interrupted as light flashed from the… window. His eyes widened as he snapped to see something cut through the curtains and reveal a single individual already hanging by the window, a crazed smile on her face. A hood covering most of her face.

"Found ya~!"

Prosciutto's instinct kicked in, left hand grasping the handle of his revolver as he aimed the weapon at the intruder, but failed to get a shot in as knives rushed at him. One stabbed by his right shoulder, one slammed into his left knee, and the last one pierced his left arm. The combined pain forced him to drop the gun, but not before letting out a wild shot. The bullet landed right below the woman, eliciting a giggle out of her.

"Missed me~."

Gritting his teeth, Prosciutto struggled to not crash down completely. He was now bleeding a lot, and he would end up passing out if he didn't keep his mind focused on the situation. Pesci couldn't get alerted, not when the woman was within range of attacking him again and potentially killing him. No, he needed to play safe about it. As soon as the intruder entered the carriage, she pulled her hood down, revealing a beautiful woman with pretty pink eyes and light-red hair. A true beauty, but one that was as fatal as a sick monster could be from the twisted smile on her face.

"Master Atrum is going to reward me handsomely as soon as I bring you to him. Oh my, he is definitely going to enjoy the gift despite me being a bit naughty and breaking his rule to not engage just yet," The attacker mused foolishly, providing information for Prosciutto to check later on. Once he was done killing her. "But alas, I think it's time for you to come with me, little Matou. The little spectacle is now over~."

While he could no longer use his gun against this individual, Prosciutto finally spotted an opportunity within his reach. Sure, he could strike this woman due to his current limitation, but he could still touch her leg. And that should be enough for his plan to go through without any issues. So he reached out, grasping her heel. She tensed up, her gaze aimed angrily at the weakened assassin.

"Fuhu? A little worm trying to do something here? What a silly individual," The woman hummed deviously. "But of course, I'm merciful. I wonder- are you so desperate to touch a girl that you would do so in this situation?"

...He had no regret for what he was going to do.

The amusement lasted a few stupid minutes. Each second provided a rise of annoyance within Prosciutto but eventually culminated in a good development for him and the kid he was guarding as his ability finally worked. ｢Grateful Dead｣ had a special ability that could be used within two modalities, with the first one being an indiscriminate area-wide aging attack, or an individual use when it came to single targets. The sole requirement for that last option was that the user had to touch the target one way or another.

The woman paused in her giggling, her jaw dropping as she spotted the wrinkles appearing on her hands. Then her arms, shoulders- she touched her face, her once beautiful face, and her vibrant red hair as they had aged up. Her visage grew terribly wrinkly and ugly, while her hair turned a filthy gray. She was shivering once more, but where before she was excited, now there was another emotion driving that reaction.

Dread.

"T-This doesn't make any sense? What is going on? WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME, YOU STUPID CRIMINAL!?" She panicked, sobbing without restraint. "M-Master Atrum- He is going to hate me. I'M SO UGLY AND WRINKLY!"

"And dead," Prosciutto muttered weakly, gaining the woman's attention… just as a fishing rod's hook bypassed a few walls and stabbed into her chest, reaching her heart. Shock flared at the sudden attack, with Prosciutto smirking at her foolishness. "You were too loud."

While he didn't get the chance to alert his partner, that didn't mean Pesci didn't hear what was going on nonetheless who was screeching. And since it was clear that the 'subject' was a 'criminal', the fellow Stand User managed to pick up what was going on. A yank was all that was needed. The wrinkly hag had aged to the point her skin was turning gray, and then she shattered into dust through that strong hit. Prosciutto stared grimly over the scene, musing over the possibility of seeing red grains if Pesci had moved quicker, if he had pulled at the woman faster than he did now. But for now, that wasn't his main priority. Pesci finally came back rushing in the carriage, looking at them and helping his friend up before starting to finally patch him up with the first aid kit he brought with them.

Who would have thought that shitty bag would have been useful?

As the older gangster allowed the rookie to fix him up, he thought of what was going to happen next due to the recent developments. Prosciutto would have felt relief and calm as he knew now it was time to retreat, recover and resume their missions, but as they all sat down back in their carriage, his gaze ended up spotting an element he hadn't seen on the girl's pet due to her arm covering it. A strange gem, similar to a ruby, stuck in the middle of its shell. And a thorough look gave him sight over… faces. Familiar faces.

That's Bucciarati.

"That… that turtle. It's not a normal one," Prosciutto highlighted calmly. "Girl, give it to me."

Sakura answered by keeping it closer to herself, looking ready to attack them much to his surprise and annoyance. Prosciutto didn't need a genius-like mind to know what was up, and he looked ready to jump her if not for Pesci's own confusion.

"W-What do you mean? What's wrong with that turtle?"

"Bucciarati- that turtle is a Stand User, and you can see people in its gem."

Pesci's eyes turned and squinted at the exposed ruby, shock filling him as that unexpected surprise was also met with some reluctance to go through with their plans. They had talked so much of going through the assassination attempt on Bucciarati that they didn't imagine that this would have been how it would happen. Their only obstacle at the moment being the very girl they just protected from that attack. Before Prosciutto could enforce their mission's goal, Pesci spoke and he sounded, as expected, unwilling to go through with this.

"Maybe we could do something about it that isn't… killing them?"

"We've gone rogue on Passione. You think they would spare us? We are traitors worse than they could get with their current plans with the boss' daughter," Prosciutto rebuked fiercely. "We shouldn't do anything stupid."

"D-Didn't Risotto tell us we didn't have to kill them? What if- What if we just ally with them against the Boss."

"Pesci-"

"Come on, maybe we can do something out of this situation. Think of it, why would Risotto give us the option to spare someone if we rarely get that? Doesn't it generally mean that there is a chance that allying with them would be a better option?"

His lips twitched in discomfort at that logic, mostly because it did make sense due to some cryptic words from Risotto himself. The boss' daughter wasn't to be killed. The only reason they would need to eliminate Bucciarati and Co. was to use her to track down their final target. If they managed to get access to Trish and get some information from her, but also keep her with extra protection, they could potentially kill two birds with a stone. Fighting off the irritation of going through the mission without questions, he knew better than to risk a good chance to put his team in a better position to fight off their foes. So, Prosciutti bowed his head, angrily, but with a resolute tone in his voice.

"Fine. We will discuss this then."

It took them a few moments to leave Coco Jumbo, but Giorno still had to understand what was going on.

Before actually trying to grasp the situation, he took a moment to check on Sakura, a gesture mimicked by Caren, Narancia and Trish, with Mista paying attention to them before aiming his glance at the two assassins meant to kill them. Fugo just looked frustrated, more than usual, and Giorno could tell it was about the assassins. Sure, the blonde knew that they were enemies, yet it was slowly becoming clear that their goal here wasn't to assassinate them and Trish, but rather assassinate them because they had Trish under their protection. It was a matter of similar goals with different methods.

Bucciarati was quickly on the offense. "Your team already tried to kill my group."

"Illuso and Formaggio. Both of which aren't known even to others as stable individuals," Prosciutto pointed out. "Truth be told, you did us a favor in a way."

Pesci didn't look as convinced, but he was nodding reluctantly over that opinion. The fact that even Abbacchio was nodding at this wasn't lost on Giorno. Could it be that these two cases were so bad that even their teams didn't want to have to deal with them to that degree? It was awkward to accept, but he could see that being a good reason to remove individuals.

"Then what's your goal here and how do you think negotiations would help it?" Bruno inquired, still guarding himself around these two. "We're not giving up on Trish."

"I thought so to myself, but that's not what we are after. We want you to help us take out the boss."

… "No."

Prosciutto frowned. "Why?"

"...What do you mean with 'why'?"

"What's your goal in bringing the girl to her father? What do you think you will gain out of this?"

"The spread of drugs, we want to stop it."

A disappointed sigh left Prosciutto. "And you so believe that he would do it? That he would do that without hesitation?

Trish looked upset at this and tried to reason with the man herself. "My father- surely he would consider this if I-"

"Ah! As if the Boss would ever consider that. Do you even know what the girl is to him?" Prosciutto remarked angrily. "Trust me, girl, it's not you. But your father knows you are a liability. He never inquired about family, he never checked on you, and you believe he did so because he didn't know? If he really cared, he would have known, and he would have brought you and your mother to a safe place to live."

The rebuke shook Trish up as there was a sense of truth that brought dread within the carriage. And Giorno couldn't exactly find much fault in that comment. The boss had slowly turned in a very problematic figure within the young man's mind. Slowly turning from a unifying figure to a demagogue that would hardly listen to their pleas. Sure, he sounded cordial through his messages, but even the most ruthless among tyrants would talk sweetly over someone that bears a weakness to his hard shell. Trish wasn't a weakness due to any feeling towards family, but because she was key to his identity. Trish was a threat.

"H-He didn't know-"

"The man knows things. If he wants to know something, he can. He knows when a foreign infiltration is happening, when organizations from beyond the national borders try to get through the doorstep created by the operations tied to drugs," Prosciutto interjected once more. "And yes, our team despises this circumstance the most since we have to constantly move to prevent these issues. It's a lot of money that comes in through drugs, but never enough to make up for the issues it causes."

"...And what's your goal then?"

"You will help us by providing assistance as we take out the Boss."

"You can't seriously consider this, Bucciarati," Fugo muttered angrily. "That's treason, the organization would look bad at this move."

"Would it?" Prosciutto's words cut with ease into the tense exchange. "If you haven't noticed, with the boss growing more and more detached from affairs, he is hardly seen as a real leader. It's just the big monster that comes and goes whenever someone is threatening Passione or his secret identity."

Was that really that bad? Giorno hadn't inquired that deeply on Passione's current state of things, knowing its general structure but now how rotten the group really was. Bruno's hesitation further enabled the blond to expect this to be quite bad and… they weren't done just yet.

"Meanwhile Risotto would stop the trade altogether," Pesci piped in, looking at his partner with a confident look, continuing only as Prosciutto nodded at him. "He isn't interested in pushing Passione in too many heinous affairs and is planning to shift focus on more respectable investments to sustain its current size and organization."

"That would mean being more public," Bruno argued and Prosciutto smiled.

"If the people like us, then I see no reason why that would be bad," The man remarked without hesitation. "And I don't need to explain how genuine Risotto can be when he swears on doing something."

Bucciarati just tensed up at this, unease crossing on his face at this circumstance. Giorno couldn't pick up all thoughts in his head, but he was quite expressive in that moment, and he could tell how the temptation was now too strong to say no too. And it proved so strong that they actually shook hands on it. An alliance, more like a reinforced truce, which was meant to deal with the boss. Trish didn't look convinced, quite distraught at the news, and Fugo looked incredibly upset by this whole matter. The rest of the group was tense about the news, but Abbacchio showed no sign of disappointment on the matter, quite the opposite. Mista too was unsure what to say or how to react to it, but he looked at it neutrally and not fully unnerved by it.

But what did Giorno think of it? Many things. Most of which were good, but with hints of bad here and there. His priority was to defeat the drug trade within the peninsula, yet he was aware that it could end up with someone like Risotto, someone he heard from the group wasn't truly a good person, taking over the organization. Could he be lying about his plans? It didn't seem so. But what if the methods he planned to implement were crueler than those used by his current boss?

So many questions remained, and Giorno doubted he currently had the means to get the answers for those. And while he kept on thinking about this, the conversation was brought to a halt as someone was soon knocking at the door. It wasn't insistent, but loud enough to draw all words to silence. Giorno looked at the door, tension rising within the occupants of the carriage, but Bruno seemed to recover just in time to muster a simple word.

"Yes?"

The door slowly opened, revealing a masked individual on the other side. He looked like one of those old theatrical masks, with the multi-colored outfit he wore looking close to that specific mask, the Harlequin. He bowed his head, and then spoke.

"Apologies for my interruption, I was told this is where my current ward is being guarded."

Tension returned full-strength at the news.

"Your… ward?"

"Sakura Kujo, great-granddaughter of Joseph Joestar, my employer," He replied to Bruno with a calm voice. "I am Agente Arlecchino, and my goal through this stay in the nation is to make sure that young Sakura is protected from the attacks of some unpleasant individual trying to kidnap her."

And with that, a whole new can of worms was opened. Yet, as the new 'alliance' handled this new anomaly, Giorno's gaze was fully fixed on this new individual and he could tell, deep down, that the masked fellow was staring back at him. Blue eyes finding Orange ones. Something familiar sparkling between them.

Something… important.

AN

La Squadra and Bucciarati's group are currently allied… to a degree. Not everyone will be on board, and things are just getting tougher on them all due to these new circumstances. And with Arlecchino here, the next four-part arc will be fairly interesting. After all, the train is going to reach Florence, and a devastating meeting will happen. Like in Cairo, where Jotaro faced Dio, Sakura is about to face her own vampiric problem. Except this one is less hostile than many would expect.

REVIEW Q&A!

Guest 1 (Chapter 14): For Counterforce I would say I would say Post-Part 5 Giorno due to his unique ability that suggest an interest to 'preserve reality' which works well with the Counter-Force's main goals. Maybe George II due to his dedication during WW1. Grand Servants? I would go with a Stand-User Jonathan Joestar from Jojo's Bizarre Summer Break fan manga. Ultimate Hermit Purple is stronk!

Kevinlee010601: Ah, trust me, I tried so many times to get good at art myself. I just suck at it. My hands just have moments they start shivering for a brief duration and screw my lines T.T .

Guest 2 (Chapter 14): He would think of her as a threat, but instead of seeing her as someone like Diavolo, it would be more like two strong opposites meeting. In a way, Koyanskaya is similar to DIO to a degree, but instead of wanting to 'better humanity through HEAVEN', she plans to keep it as a pet to degrade more and more. Which clash heavily with Giorno's own philosophy when it comes to other people, willing to give a chance to those that have personal value worthy of success and prosperity while denied this chance to those that are morally bankrupt. It would be an interesting meeting for sure. Johnny is a bit more complicated. He would be against her 100% but on different reasons. Where Giorno sees her as a threat but one brought to that situation through a backstory, Johnny would be more inclined to see it like Jonathan would: A threat to humanity that can't be talked with.

Guest 3 (Chapter 14): It's a positively neutral relationship. Alaya wants humanity to prosper which the Joestars are known to support. But at the same time, they wouldn't be so keen to accept some of the decisions made to 'preserve humanity' by attacking fellow humans that did little to deserve death. In her gaze they are paragon of virtue, but also 'fools' since they can't see her point of view. That obviously doesn't stop her from simp to some of them from time to time. xD