Giorno Giovanna had been exhausted on numerous occasions in his life. In fact, during his childhood, due to the lack of food, he had even come to believe that it was a natural occurrence. However, he had never felt so drained from using his Stand before. Bringing Bruno back had been quite an experience; he had expended more energy than he thought possible. And the proof was that instead of only bringing back his companions, the excess energy he meant to let go went to other corpses in the area.
He had created zombies. On his list of errors, that had to be on the top. Fortunately, most of those who were able to escape the tombs used up almost all of their energy in the process. Even so, the vision was so grotesque that Bruno clung protectively to Abbacchio's corpse. The question as to whether his Stand could converge was then answered, for behind him, Sticky Fingers materialized, ready to attack anyone who approached.
Giorno stood next to Narancia's body. The young boy, once he was brought back, would not need to know how Bruno had totally forgotten about him. It was not strange though; the only weakness of the Angel of Nápoles was lying on the ground beside him.
The zombies did not have much strength, so some vines were enough to immobilize them. Giorno was so tired that he appreciated Bruno's insistence on carrying the body of his beloved. He could destroy the corpses, but since he had brought them back, they should be his responsibility.
By the time he finished transporting the living corpses into the van, the sun was already rising. Luckily, he knew of enough places in Nápoles where he could take them with no one the wiser. Or, at least, no one who was not mortally afraid of betraying the Don of Passione.
He chose the old house where they had briefly hidden Trish; he had kept it more for its sentimental value than anything else. From time to time, he liked to go and remind himself of how much it had cost him to get where he was, which is why the place was clean, tidy, and stocked with fresh food. He was so exhausted that Bruno scolded him into going to sleep. The man had barely been in the world of the living for a few hours but already he was acting like a father to him. Being told by Bruno that they had to talk seriously after his nap only added to the sense of fatherhood.
Giorno practically fell unconscious as soon as he touched the bed. His hunger woke him up late in the afternoon, and he almost ran down when he remembered Bruno.
The man was not alone. Giorno's hasty departure from the city hadn't been so inadvertent nor perhaps his disappearance in the morning. If he hadn't been so tired, it would have occurred to him to call with an excuse or disconnect his phone, but he hadn't done any of that. Hence, they had tracked him down.
You could see even in Fugo's expression that he had been crying, and it was even more remarkable in Mista. For a moment, Giorno felt like a stranger intruding upon a reunion, at least until Bruno saw him and called him.
"I managed to sleep for an hour," he told Giorno with palpable emotion in his voice. "And I tried eating too. It's not like before; it doesn't really feel nourishing, but I can... feel it."
Before Giorno had time to react, Bruno was on his knees in front of him and had taken his hand to kiss the ring he didn't even remember wearing. The oath to the Don.
"Please Don Giovanna, bring them back like you did with me. If I get to live like this, I cannot live without my beloved or with the guilt over Narancia."
Giorno automatically bent down to the height of his kneeling friend and hugged him affectionately. For a moment, the fatigue and doubts that assailed him melted. Only the joy of having them all back soon shone. If Fugo or Mista had thought about throwing his attitude in his face for not consulting them on the final decision, the result had silenced them. There was no argument about whether it was worth having their former capo back.
"Never kneel before me, my friend. You of all people do not have to. In any case, I should be the one kneeling before you," Giorno said in a broken voice while holding back tears. "I'm going to do everything in my power to bring them back as soon as I can. We have a couple of candidates who are perfect for serving as a sacrifice. I think I could do it in a few hours, at least with one of them."
When a drug dealer tried to sell his products in children's schools, ending up in the hands of Passione was always a possibility, but he certainly could not have expected to meet his end like this. Being devoured by a teenager, that is. The pimp who murdered Leone Abbacchio's partner years ago had not expected to meet him again under such circumstances either. He had been kept in one of Passione's barracks, thinking they would kill him quickly, but nevertheless, they kept him locked up, as if having something special and far worse in store for him.
He was not a very clever man, but seeing the strange men and the corpse, however well preserved it was, of the man he had ruined was enough to tell him to fear for his life. Despite how painful and traumatic his death was, there was no anger or desire for revenge in the gaze of his executioner. After being illuminated with that golden glow, the corpse stood up, automatically knowing what it had to do. The first bite was in the juicy flesh of his cheek. Luckily for the pimp, his vitality was transferred to the ancient corpse before he could continue to feel anything.
While Bruno Bucciarati couldn't manage to shed a single tear the first time he came back from the dead in the church, he showed on double occasions that he was most definitely capable of it now, after his second revival.
Narancia's death had been so swift that he was hardly aware of having died. Yes, eating human meat was a bit disgusting as an idea at first, but he took it on. It bothered the boy more to see how the youngest of the coup group were now older than him. But of course, Narancia had always had an easy character.
Abbacchio, however, did not find it so easy to adapt. Depressed as he was, his new nature didn't help. Of course he would do anything for Bruno, but it was difficult for him. He had always had trouble connecting with people, and being a zombie didn't help him at all in this regard. At first, Bruno refused to leave his side, partly because he knew he was having a bad time and partly because he couldn't stop remembering what had happened the last time Abbacchio was left alone. Finally, it was Leone himself who insisted to Bruno that he was fine, that he could take a walk to let himself be seen and do small errands.
Alone, he was going through the library of Giorno's new house, which they had settled in until they got used to their situation, when the blonde found him. Their relationship was never simple even before. It was only through the other members of the group that Giorno had come to understand the character of the former policeman.
Despite knowing so little of him, being an observant person, he had noticed that Abbacchio seemed particularly sad and brooding.
"Abbacchio, I don't even know what you might be feeling, but I wanted..."
"Damn Giovanna, don't tell me you're going to apologize for bringing me back to life to live with my beloved." Leone let out something between a sigh and a tired laugh. "I'm still older than you, right? In spite of everything, you have grown in stature. But, well, I refuse to believe that Mista's mind is older than mine... What I mean is that you are still a child."
"Only a year older than me." He tried not to sound very defensive. "And I've been running Passione with an iron fist for five years. I can't possibly be considered a child anymore."
"I didn't mean it like that." He hit Giorno on the shoulder. "You're trying to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, as only idealistic children do; I once did the same. But of course, you are powerful and you have broken the rules of nature to do it. All of the people in Bruno's group, including himself—maybe not Fugo, but that rat has never been a child—were a bunch of children playing at being adults. Any one of us would have made the same decision as you, choosing to bring back Bruno and Narancia. I guess I'm lucky that they want me with them. It's not a secret that I do not feel completely comfortable, kid, but... I also didn't understand why I was still alive right before Diavolo turned me into a donut."
"We wanted you back too, Abbacchio." And Giorno realized it was true. Everyone's attitude seemed to be more relaxed around him, as if he was an older brother they could go to.
"Of course you want me back. I'm the life of the party." He let out a boisterous laugh that made Giorno smile too. "You don't have to worry about me. Bruno already does, and he did a lot when I kicked the bucket too. But enough of this. I'm bored out of my mind since you won't let me do anything. Why don't you tell me about your brothers? Someone has to investigate them. Sorry you're stuck with those sons of bitches."
"From what I know about my mother and father, it's not an insult at all."
And with Leone Abbacchio in charge of the investigation and search for Donatello, Passione continued its expansion on the now less burdened shoulders of its Don.
