- Good morning.- Hol Horse greeted, bringing a bouquet of flowers in his hand as he entered Kakyoin's room.

- What happened to you for bringing me flowers?- Kakyoin asked, looking up from the book he had.

- Do not get your hopes up, this are for your nurse.-

- Which of all? The one who is married or the lesbian? Or is it for the male nurse perhaps?

Hol Horse frowned and left the flowers in the water vase at the window as Kakyoin laughed and then groaned in pain.

- Very well, you keep them. Let's see if it brings a little life to this depressing place.- Hol Horse said as he dragged a chair to sit near Kakyoin's stretcher.

- I've been in hospitals and clinics for a long time, and it doesn't really depress me anymore. Why the hell do you come to see me every day anyway? I thought you already returned to Japan or wherever you want to go.-

- I'm still working for the Foundation.-

-Aha, yes. Does that include coming to see me every day at the hospital?-

- In part.- The blond said, scratching his chin. - Did you find out that your ex-boyfriend called your house?-

- I don't have a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend or anything like that.-

- Kakyoin, please, I know that Jotaro Kujo is your boyfriend.-

Kakyoin choked on his own saliva so that he spluttered and coughed for a few seconds while he himself suffered from the pain of his injuries. Hol Horse was looking at him indifferently.

- I always knew there was something between you both, you know? There was a special way they looked at each other…-

- Hol Horse.-

- ...and in which you protected each other…-

- Hol Horse.-

- ...the sexual tension was too much…-

- Hol Horse.-

- ... by the way, have you already screwed, I imagine?-

- HOL HORSE!-

Kakyoin, completely red, had thrown the book at his head, knocking his new hat to the ground and causing the other to squeal.

- My Italian leather hat, damn it!-

- How come Jotaro called my house?- Kakyoin asked, still feeling his cheeks burn.

- He called your house and since he couldn't contact you, he called your family companies.-

- Oh no.-

- Your mother insulted him on the phone, she said that because of him you had gone to die in a third-world country or something like that. Your father sent him a fax with some very colorful insults. What the hell did you tell your parents when we went gangster hunting?-

- That I was going to Latin America on vacation, I already went there once and it's not so bad. We went to the ass of the world. Chile, a nice place. Towers of "Pain Knee", I think. No! It was "Chill Ole".-

- As if your dwarf island wasn't the ass of the world too, but with technology and anime.-

- You were also born on an island, you damn bastard.- Kakyoin replied.

- You can't compare Australia with Japan. My "island" is a continent, please.- said Hol Horse, half amused and half serious. -Why does your mom think you're a depressed slob and you went to the second worst place in the world to die?-

- Which one is first?- Kakyoin laughed, despite himself. He liked that stupid brainless blond.

- Australia.-

They laughed for a few seconds until Kakyoin forced himself to calm down because his abdomen hurt. Damn gunshot wounds.

- Seriously, why does your mother think all that?-

- Maybe because when I lied to my mother and told her that I was going to Chile, I told her with a face of wanting to die, what do I know; my mother is exaggerated and a businesswoman. And how the hell did you find out about all that?-

- Because someone from the Foundation told me when I reported on the mission.-

- Who told you?-

- Rick.-

- What Rick?-

- The one who sucks my dick.-

-How mature, Hol.- Kakyoin replied, rolling his eyes. -Seriously, how did you find out?-

- From the Foundation, I already told you, apparently it's not a secret that you're affectionate with Kujo, but no one is very clear about why you came to Italy as a field agent.-

Good thing, what little dignity I have left is safe. Noriaki thought with relief.

- May I have the book, please?- He asked, to divert the subject and focus his pain-dazed brain on something more productive than that jerk of Jotaro Kujo and his stupid imminent wedding.

-Why do you have a map of the city where you were shot?- Hol Horse asked as he returned the object and realized it was not a book, but a tourist guide.

- Because I'm trying to find out where the boy saved me so I can go look for him and thank him.-

- It's been two days, get over it and assume you hallucinated it because you lost a lot of blood. It looked like a scene from a horror movie when I found you.- the blond said, putting on his hat.

- I didn't hallucinate it.- Kakyoin growled, taking a sketch he had on the table at his feet. -In fact, I even drew his face. I don't know why but he is stuck in my memory…-

- Let me see that.- said the other, snatching the notebook from him and shuffling the pages until he found a portrait of a boy of about six with dark hair and green eyes. -Is this it? No wonder it caught your attention, it seems that one of his parents is Asian. Just like your hun. Hun-didn't-see-how-dumb-you-are. Well, ex-hun-didn't… Ouch!-

While his friend(?) was rubbing his forehead from the blow he had given him, Kakyoin kept thinking about what he had told him. Was it because of the unusual traits that he had stored in his brain? Did he look like Jotaro a bit? Was his subconscious that mad?

I need to resume my therapy.

- Hol, How long will you stay as my babysitter?- he asked.

- Until you recover, they told me. I'm supposed to protect you if they attack us again. Then we go back to Japan. And your doctor says you have at least one more week before you can travel.-

- I need to ask you a favor.-

- Do you want me to take you to the bathroom? Ask one of your nurses. I didn't know we already had that level of trust.-

- No idiot. I need…-

- You want me to look for that kid, don't you?- Hol Horse interrupted in a weary voice. -I'd rather take you to the bathroom, honestly.-

Kakyoin rolled his eyes again and his partner laughed.

- I warn you that I charge dearly for these jobs.- said the blond.

- For taking me to the bathroom or to look for a kid?-

- Yes.-

- Will you do it or not?-

- I'll need money for travel expenses, also if I'm going to go to that filthy city again, I need a change of clothes to go undercover.-

- Is that a "Yes, Kakyoin, I will. Thank you for the trust placed in me"?-

- Yeah, you rude little shit.-

oOo

Susanna had been crying non-stop for thirty minutes, hugging a cushion on the sofa and feeling miserable. Jotaro was gone and she had been unnecessarily cruel in arguing with him. Isn't she supposed to have a minor in psychology? I mean, the man was emotionally retarded and a coward, that was obvious; but she should have thought about how to better tell him what she felt, not hurt the man she loved more. God, now would she face her entire pregnancy alone or with her gossiping sisters? "How am I going to tell mom the wedding is off? Fuck I have to cancel so many orders and make so many calls!"

"For such a smart person, you screwed up, Susanna." she told herself, sniffling and reaching for the box of tissues on the nightstand. How she hated her being so sensitive. "Stupid hormones."

The keys rang and suddenly the door opened, revealing Jotaro with a bunch of bags and a blank look. Well, the normal look of him. She sat up as dignified as she could and looked at him and then he watched her with concern as she put the groceries on the kitchen table.

- I brought you ice cream, I thought you would need it. And the chocolates you like.- He said, shuffling through the bags. -Which one do you want?-

- W-What are you doing here?- She was able to stammer while he brought her the ice cream pot and a spoon. - I-I thought you were gone.-

- I needed to get some air and smoke. You know I can't smoke near you.- He answered softly as he sat down next to her. -Sorry for not letting you know, I thought I'd be back sooner, but there was a line at the supermarket.-

Susanna accepted the ice cream and the spoon in a daze, but she still opened it and tasted it, still looking at Jotaro, who seemed more serious than usual as he played with a sealed chocolate bar in his hands.

- Susanna, I was thinking about what you said… and well, you're right about many things.-

She did not say anything. She was too embarrassed by her attitude and angry with him to tell him anything.

- It has always been difficult for me to express what I feel. And that has made me a coward.-

"What a novelty", she thought.

- As I told you a while ago, I handled everything badly instead of being honest with those I should have. If I proposed to you, it's because I really want to marry you, Susu. Whether you are pregnant or not. I'm not going to lie to you, the fact that a child is on the way hastened my plans, but it's not an obligation. I always had the idea of staying with you for a long time.- Jotaro said with an inexpressive voice and without looking at her.

She was not alarmed. She knew him well enough to know that this was the only way he could express his feelings.

- I love you.- he finally said and looked at her, with an imperceptible smile and a sparkle in his eyes. -But I also love another person. And in my cowardice, I hurt them both. Especially for you. I'll understand if you want to call off the wedding and never see me again, but I'd hate for you to be left with the idea that you're just one side of a scale and not a decision made freely and voluntarily.-

Susanna sighed and took Jotaro's hand that rested on her leg into a fist, stroking it to relax it. They stayed like that for a while, watching her fingers brush against his rough, scarred skin.

- I think that if you had told me about him before, I would have tried to understand… we could have reached an agreement, I don't know.-

Jotaro looked at her with such intensity that he blushed as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. She ate some ice cream before continuing to talk.

- I mean, I'm not that closed-minded.- She explained with her mouth full. - I grew up in California and my parents were hippies. And anthropologists. But mostly hippies. You know, the sexual revolution, free love, hallucinogens, and all that. Make love and not war. Well, it's deeper than that, but you know what I mean.- She looked at him and he nodded. -What I mean is, well, it's not common for you to love two people at the same time, but it's not weird or abnormal. It is something that has been studied in psychology for years, you know?-

She swallowed her ice cream with joy.

- In ancient societies, the Paleolithic, the idea of marriage did not exist, much less that of monogamy. That came later with the development of more scientific thinking about nature when they realized that sex had to do with procreation. Monogamy, at least in the West, is something imposed by a paradigm shift that settled in the Middle Ages due to the imposition of virginity, procreation, patriarchy, and everything that Catholicism imposed on society.-

Jotaro was looking at her, completely absorbed. God, how he adored her when Susanna went into college professor mode.

- And how not start talking about the Orient. In short, the subject of love, sex, and pleasure was falling into the category of taboo. Psychology was mainly in charge of studying it and actually, currently, the idea has been established that human sexuality is more of a spectrum... no, a constellation permeated by internal and external factors to people. Faced with this panorama, other ways of relationships are becoming established in our society, such as loving two people romantically. Ideas that previously seemed aberrational to the world are now more accepted.- she was saying. She stopped to eat more ice cream.

- I know that it is nothing special, my grandparents have a relationship like that. They have been together for more than fifty years. My grandfather Joseph is married to my nonna Suzie and to grandfather Caesar.-

Susanna coughed and spat out the piece of ice cream she had in her mouth, dirtying the beautiful upholstery of the sofa that it took her so many hours to choose from the store when she had moved to that apartment.

- ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT YOU HAVE HAD AN EXAMPLE OF A SUCCESSFUL POLYAMOROUS RELATIONSHIP ALL YOUR LIFE AND YET YOU WERE AFRAID TO TALK TO ME OR THAT KAKYOIN ABOUT WHAT YOU FELT?-

Small drops of ice cream splashed on Jotaro's face, who remained petrified watching his fiance radiate a menacing aura. Very threatening. He suddenly understood why her students feared her so much and called her Commander Bangles.

- YOU ARE GOING TO CALL YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY IMMEDIATELY, STARTING WITH YOUR GRANDPARENTS AND YOU ARE GOING TO REALLY EXPLAIN EVERYTHING THAT IS HAPPENING TO THEM!- she yelled, getting up to go get a cloth to clean up the mess. -AND YOU BETTER GET THAT KAKYOIN HERE TOO!-

- B-but I don't know where he is.- Jotaro said in just a whisper. -He disappeared and his family…-

She pointed the bottle of fabric stain remover at him from the kitchen like a weapon. Jotaro had never been intimidated by a stain remover before.

- THAT IS NOT MY PROBLEM, YOU LOOK FOR IT AND BRING IT! HAVEN'T YOU HUNTED TWICE AROUND THE WORLD CHASING CRAZY PEOPLE?! -

- Yes, but…-

A damp cloth landed on his face, blocking his view of her, and then something—what he assumed was the stain remover—dropped on the side of his head.

- AND CLEAN THAT SOFA, YOU ARE GOING TO SLEEP ON THERE TODAY!-

oOo

After a few days of searching and spying, Hol Horse returned to Rome, to the hospital where Kakyoin was resting, but not before going to buy some supplies that both he and the brat liked (although he wouldn't admit it, clearly).

The Japanese man was talking on the phone when he entered the room and threw him a paper bag with some oil stains on it. He watched him say goodbye and hang up, then sniff the bag with satisfaction.

- I had to smuggle them in.- Hol Horse told him. - Those nurses don't want you to eat chips, it seems.- He said casually as if they had seen each other five minutes ago and not several days.

- How did it go?-

- Fine.- Said the other, sitting next to the bed while he took off his gangster hat and combed the short locks that he now had. - In summary: his name is Giorno Giovanna, he is five years old, he lives with his Japanese mother Kyoko, and his stepfather, Enzo Giovanna, near the port. They tease him at school because of his features and for being very quiet. His stepfather is very cruel to him for no apparent reason because in reality, he is not a problem child. Or it wasn't in these days when I spied on him. Anything else you want to know?-

- He has a pretty shitty life.- Kakyoin opined, gulping down a suppli and handing the bag to his partner, who took one out.

- And that you say it. He lives in a very dangerous neighborhood, full of gangsters and mafias. Bullets and blood are something of every day, what isg theesh, Latinamerk? – He added with his mouth full.

- Who does Giovanna work for?-

- Oh, you'll love it, he works for Passione.- Hol informed before gulping down another suppli.

- The criminal group we were investigating?-

- Apparently, they have dominated that city and are expanding.-

- How the hell did you get so much information in such a short time?-

- Maybe you were slowing me down, you little shit.- Hol replied, raising an eyebrow.

- Makes sense, I have the mobility of a fifty-year-old in a twenty-one-year-old body.- Kakyoin replied, taking no offense.

- They also had the file on the brat's mother at the Foundation.- the blonde admitted after a brief pause.

-Why's that?-

- Apparently, she is from a yakuza family and had to flee the country.-

Kakyoin frowned.

- Are you kidding? We came here looking for arrows that can give Stands and now we are involved with gangsters and yakuza that can also get stands? God's sake.- Kakyoin exclaimed, dropping his head on the pillow. -Why couldn't he just be any kid? No, he had to be the son of a former yakuza and have an aspiring mobster as a stepfather, I'm fucking sick.-

Hol looked at him lying on the bed with his eyes glued to the ceiling. Should he tell him that the brat's mother was from the Shiobana, who were like the left hand of the Shinomiya, the deadly enemy group of the Noriaki family?

Nah.

- I have to go.- the Japanese said, sitting up quickly on the bed as if he had had an important revelation.

- Where exactly?-

- For the child. I have to get him out of that environment.-

- Did a bullet go through your brain too?- Horse asked. -You can't do that, you've had a very short recovery time, do you want to die or what?-

- Now specifically or in general?- Kakyoin answered, getting up with some difficulty.

- I'm serious, Kakyoin.-

- Me too. What did you think would happen after I asked you to investigate the boy?-

- That you would send him money monthly or you would pay for school and university. Not that you would do some silly altruistic mission to rescue children from gangsters.-

- It's not enough with that, his life is shit. And he saved mine. I can't leave it like this.-

- You must leave it like that, just recover so that you can return to your life and forget about this.-

Kakyoin walked with a scowl to the bathroom of the room, while Hol Horse followed him. He took out of a bag bleach, dye, and other things that he left on the sink under the other's dumbfounded gaze and his "where the fuck did you get that?"

- I need you to help me dye my hair. Then we'll go shopping for a suit and other things. I have to look like a gangster and not a Japanese child.- Noriaki said. -Plus you'll have to come with me.-

Horse stroked his left temple. He could easily take him down and really hurt him. But the truth was that this Giorno guy's life sucked and Kakyoin was very good at defending himself. His stand made up for much of the agility he had lost.

Besides, he wasn't such a scoundrel to hurt a crippled gunshot wound.

Wounds. In plural.

Well, he wasn't a cripple either.

Semi-crippled?

- This is going to cost you more.- he finally answered, entering the bathroom and putting on his latex gloves.

-I do not care.-

After several discussions, negotiations, makeovers, and hours by train later, Kakyoin and Horse arrived at the "filthy" port city in search of the brat. Although they pretended to look like high-caliber mobsters, they actually looked more like magazine cover models, something that earned them many glances and whispers during the trip.

Over the white shirt and black vest, Kakyoin wore the petrol suit jacket over his shoulders, held by a silver chain near his neck. His brown shoes shone and matched the hat he wore over his now black locks and shaded his slanted eyes hidden behind smoked glasses. The cherry earrings had been replaced by a long silver earring in one ear and a small hoop in the other.

Hol Horse, for his part, wore a gray suit with imperceptible lighter stripes, a white shirt, and a dark blue tie. His black shoes matched his hat, which covered his now short brown hair and shaded his now dark eyes because he was wearing contacts. He also had thick-framed glasses and a few days' beard to hide his identity.

Ignoring the looks and murmurs of the people around them, they left the station and called a taxi to the neighborhood where Giorno Giovanna lived. As they crossed the city and approached their destination, Kakyoin noticed that the luminous parks and avenues were replaced by shady alleys, dirty streets, and young men wandering the corners with strange attitudes. Kakyoin offered to pay him more to drop them off at Giovanna's door, since Hol had told him that taxi drivers don't go into that part of town.

Near a square and some stores, several children were walking, some accompanied by adults.

- The school is just around the corner.- Hol Horse explained, scanning the crowd. -Aspetta, one minute.- He asked the driver and told Kakyoin to look to his left. -He is the boy.-

Giorno Giovanna was walking alone behind a group of children. Kakyoin had no trouble recognizing him when he crossed the street because he had drawn his face so many times, helped by the photographs that Hol had secretly taken of him.

The boy walked past the taxi with a blank look, closely followed by three other children who, for no reason, began to push and make fun of Giorno. Kakyoin clenched his fists, expecting the brat to fight back or something, but the brat just kept quiet, even as one of the thugs hit him with his backpack, knocking him off his feet and into a puddle.

Kakyoin put his hand on the door handle as if to get off, but his partner grabbed his arm.

- Don't.- Horse warned with a snarl.

- But no one is doing anything.-

- You're not going to solve anything if you mess with those kids now, you bloody meddling bourgeois. We have work to do and you will ruin our facade.-

Hol asked the driver to continue on his way, who led them through dark streets with curious eyes everywhere until he stopped in front of a house with a small front garden where three women were smoking and talking. He didn't need Hol to tell him who Kikyo Giovanna was, because he identified her from the photograph his partner had brought. Also, she was the only one with Japanese features of the women there.

- I need you to find out where those three brats who bothered the boy live. And yes, I'll pay you more.- Kakyoin said to his partner, paying the driver a generous amount.

- I know where they live, but the plan was not to intimidate their families. Focus on the goal and don't get us into any more trouble, will you? Save your lioness mother instincts, please.- Hol told him as they got off.

- Mother lioness?-

- You would have seen your face, you seemed ready to jump on top of those kids and bite their heads off.-

- You exaggerated, I was just upset.-

Upset was a soft word. He was furious. There was no need to tell Hol that he hated bullies because he himself had been a victim of them for many years. How he hated them.

Under Kikyo's watchful eye, they approached the house and couldn't even say good afternoon when Kikyo spoke to them. The other women stopped their chatter at once.

- Who are you, what do you want?- she asked in perfect Italian.

- Good afternoon.- Kakyoin said politely in English. -Are you Mrs. Giovanna? We come on behalf of the Zeppeli family.-

- From Milan.- Hol Horse clarified with a clearing of his throat. The woman gave a jolt.

- We have something serious to discuss with you and your husband, an offer I hope you will consider.-

- One you can't refuse.- Hol Horse added.

Kakyoin felt like hitting him. Why the hell was he quoting The Godfather in an Italian neighborhood? Did he want them killed? But Kikyo only narrowed her eyes and looked them up and down before asking the other women to leave.

- Are you armed?- she asked this time in English.

Kakyoin and Hol held out their arms for her to search. After checking that they were clean, she ushered them in and told them to sit on the huge, worn-out sofa in the living room. She disappeared down the hall, saying that she would go get her husband. Before sitting up as straight as she could, she took a quick look around the room. There were no photos of Giorno, no drawings, toys or other objects that would indicate that a five-year-old boy lived there.

Kakyoin sighed, trying to suppress his nervousness. He'd been through worse honestly, but pretending you're a top-caliber mobster and breaking into someone else's house to make a kid's life a little more decent because he saved you from dying at the hands of stand-up mobsters was something new. He glanced sideways at Hol, who seemed very preoccupied with eyeing the needlessly expensive wristwatch he had demanded of Kakyoin as part of the payment. His price was so ridiculous that she Kakyoin suspected that it would have been cheaper for him to hire two hitmen to accompany him.

But hey, Hol was very skilled and had gotten used to working with him.

No. He trusted him.

Who'd say?

-Good afternoon.- Enzo Giovanna said, entering the room followed by his wife.

He was a bigger man than he looked in the photos. Kakyoin and Hol stood up and held out their hands in greeting.

- Good afternoon, I'm Salvatore Zeppeli.- Kakyoin said in strange Italian. -You must be Signore Giovanna.-

- Luca Cavalieri.- Hol Horse said, adding in English. -We're here on behalf of the Zeppeli family.-

-From the Zeppeli of Milan, right?- Giovanna also answered in English.

- We come with a proposition you can't refuse.- said Hol Horse.

Kakyoin stopped himself from rolling his eyes at her hearing the Godfather quote again. They were going to end up dead if they continued like this.