Il Gioco di Ogio Engio
Chapter 3: Ogio Engio’s Game
Aglio had sent a request through his phone to get Giorno inducted; Giorno forgot that the mobile phones of the 2000s were completely different from the ones he has grown accustomed to in 2011; there were no screens, and things still took slightly slower to do in comparison, and everything was still analog. Like before, the request was quickly accepted after a few back-and-forth texts between Aglio and whoever he was talking to. The two mafiosos made their way to the interview location on the other side of Naples. While they walked, Aglio gave him a rundown of what Passione currently entails; Giorno took it as a way to “catch up” on how his syndicate was run under Father Diavolo’s rule compared to his and was greeted with vast information. For the most part, everything seemed similar to what he recalled from his past; Passione seemed more organized than before and Father Diavolo, although he had some sort of name, was much more elusive than the original Diavolo. The local community seemed to revere him as some sort of father authority that was just as feared as he was loved; only the members of Passione had the former sentiments while the public had the latter. Occasionally, he heard passing locals mention how great Father Diavolo was in upholding family values— whatever those were.
“I made a special request to have you take the initiation test,” Aglio explained what he managed to do in between their conversations. The two were careful to not talk loudly to avoid prying ears but none of the locals or tourists they encountered seemed to care.
“Regardless of where you end up,” the mafioso added, “the test is always taken in the Roma-Naples territory and overseen by the Caporegime. It is simply because the Roma-Naples territory is where the rumored headquarters of Father Diavolo reside. Luckily, we are not too far away from the location.” The Former Don recognized the directions they were going were leading them to a certain area of Poggioreale, Naples; he knew he was heading to the prison that the original Polpo should be residing in. “If His Grace is in a good mood,” Aglio continued, “he would probably let you join a decent team that has enough influence and power to get you started. I doubt he would let you join us though.”
“Why not,” Giorno wondered out loud. “I know you’re not in the greatest position but it would be better if we remain close for the time being.”
“Giogio,” Giorno had told Aglio a few minutes ago to use that name instead to avoid any suspicion from Father Diavolo, “I was only able to get you the last interview for today with a bit of persuasion. Getting to hand-pick members these days, especially those you recommend to join, is rarer than ever, especially after the death of Sorbetto and Stracciatello— you knew how favored they used to be. Our team had occasional newcomers since their deaths but none of them were picked by us. All of them ended up being labeled as traitors toward Passione that had to be disposed of rather quickly. So, even if you get into my team somehow, I doubt you will be as welcomed by my men regardless.”
“I see,” Giorno acknowledged. He knew his introduction to Bruno’s old team was difficult due to Abbacchio’s constant animosity and how he was unable to properly bond with the rest of the team due to their deaths soon after his initiation. He would have to try a different tactic to make himself more trustworthy or at least keep his new team members alive enough to end things on a good note. The mafiosos continued to walk and Aglio continued to advise the Former Don on what to do.
“I left the address for my headquarters to be given to you once you pass the initiation and if you are assigned to me,” Aglio further explained. “Meet me at Gregale Hostel once your test is done— it should take about a day to complete it. I highly recommend you do the initiation pretending you’re not a Stand User to decrease your chances of getting transferred to a subpar team or even noticed by Father Diavolo. The Caporegime overseeing the initiation goes by His Grace Polpo Ripieni. Polpo for short. Don’t let him or his guards throw you off or make you react negatively to their actions.”
“What is there to be worried about,” Giorno asked for clarification.
“The guards for His Grace Polpo are actually correctional officers and prison workers on Polpo’s payroll,” the mafioso replied. “Many had spent years being as favored for as long as they can and going as far as killing their own families to prove their loyalty. These men are also not the most… noble or well-mannered. During your interactions with them, they may use your responses to their behaviors against you, so I suggest you react as little as possible to their antics. Despite the work culture as a guard, being a Caporegime’s guard is a coveted position low-ranking mafiosos like us hitman lackeys would try to achieve if they want stability.”
“Polpo Ripieni,” Giorno repeated the name. He knew that the Caporegime he faced was called Polpo but didn’t recall him going by any other name or having a last name. He also didn’t recall such a title given to him but decided to brush it off and remind himself to be as respectful as possible. “I do not recall such a name,” he fibbed. “He must be an ally of Father Diavolo I never knew about.”
“Because of him,” Aglio mused, “we have what many mafiosos called Favorites. Almost every Caporegime has one, and many believe they are chosen to be their respective Caporegime’s successor when the time comes. I think, if you want to get yourself back into power, you should try to be a Favorite. Of course, that may entail some trickery and work.”
The Former Don had another thought that came to his mind. He asked Aglio to elaborate on what the test entailed, noticing how the other man suddenly looked around before leaning in to tell him.
“Don’t tell anyone what I’m about to tell you next,” Aglio whispered in a low voice. They were lucky that no one was around to hear them despite being out in the open. “But, not everyone makes it out of the test alive. The test requires you to keep a given lighter unlit for twenty-four hours straight. If it’s unlit or relit in any way, a Stand will appear to fight you… I don’t even know what its ability actually entails beyond it being strong enough to hold you down. However, it should be doable to pass given your Stand’s abilities to transform things. I think you’re smart enough to at least outwit or possibly avoid the enemy long enough to survive.”
Giorno asked to clarify; he assumed the Stand would be「Black Sabbath」once again, but the Former Don wasn’t sure if the Stand would still be the same in terms of abilities or completely different given everything that occurred. “When I first took the test,” Aglio apologized for being unable to answer, “it threw me around in some way and struck me with something before I blacked out and found myself with my Stand. Neither of the guards nor other members told me what happened; the test is a guarded secret and I’m already risking myself for telling you the test even exists. Everyone on my team was also forced to never talk about the test among themselves either. But, I remember seeing an arrow strike me before I was knocked unconscious. Do you recall anything regarding an arrow, by chance?”
“A Stand Arrow,” Giorno realized. “It’s a weapon that can provide whoever is deemed worthy a Stand ability but kills them otherwise. I’ve been struck with one already, which is how I received「Golden Experience」. If a Stand User gets struck again one more time… I don’t know what happens if that occurs.” The part about how he received his Stand was an obvious lie, but so was his statement on what happens if the Stand Arrow was used again.
After he realized he lost his Requiem abilities, Giorno debated on whether he should seek out the Stand Arrow and stab himself again. He admitted that he had become reliant on its abilities and debated with himself on whether he should earn his powers first, relearn how to use「Golden Experience 」before trying again, or not pursue the requiem abilities anymore. What made him most hesitant was knowing what happened when the Stand Arrow is used multiple times instead of just once.
The best-case scenario was what he knew happened to Koichi Hirose, the tourist he stole from twice. After the events that led him to be Don of Passione, Giorno became penpals with the Japanese tourist under The Speedwagon Foundation’s supervision. Their conversations between letters were mostly menial things and Koichi attempted to help build a relationship between Giorno and Dr. Jotaro Kujo; despite distrust remaining with the latter, the Former Don was grateful for Koichi’s efforts nonetheless. Within their letters and occasional in-person meetings, Koichi had confided in Giorno that he had been struck by the Stand Arrow multiple times in the past, and the results of each strike resulted in the three Acts. The teenager mentioned how「Echoes」upgraded successfully each time but refused to be struck again to see if it can be done once more due to the trauma it has inflicted as a result.
Coincidentally, Giorno had performed his own personal experiment regarding the Stand Arrows, using the remaining one he used to gain his Requiem abilities. Under the supervision of The Speedwagon Foundation and with the help of his mafiosos— all willing volunteers— he spent a few years using the Stand Arrow on them, regardless of their Stand abilities or lack thereof, to see what would happen. The results ended up being mixed and proved that Koichi’s outcome is rather rare and lucky; many lost their Stands, some gained Stands and then lost them, and the majority ended up either permanently incapacitated or dead regardless. Each iteration of the Stand Arrow’s usage decreased the chances of success drastically. Between 2005 and 2008, the experiment put a small dent in Passione’s membership and Giorno had to stop the experimentation when Mista became the last participant. The first time Mista struck himself again he lost his Sex Pistols. The second time didn’t bring his Stand back but put him in a month-long coma before a third time finally woke him up and brought back his Stand as if nothing happened. He refused to go a fourth time for obvious reasons. Fugo, who initially also wanted to volunteer after Mista, refused to do it after witnessing Mista’s near-death experience and brief loss.
While Giorno was tempted to use the Stand Arrow on himself for his desires even after his brief experiment period, he went out of his way to stop such thoughts from consuming him. He did what he could to fight against his own curiosity and desires for the sake of his men and himself. After 2008, he stopped using the Stand Arrow for initiations and his syndicate began being filled with more non-Stand Users; the act inadvertently weakened Passione over time.
It seems like the Stand Arrow constantly checks “worthiness” every time it is used, regardless of whether the candidate passed before, and even as recent as gaining a Stand yesterday with the Stand Arrow doesn’t guarantee that they will keep or upgrade their Stand the next day.
“I don’t know what happens either,” Aglio shrugged, “but I do know more people have died because of this test than lived to pass it. I suggest you avoid extinguishing the lighter at all costs. But, since I told you more secrets about this test than necessary…” Giorno watched the mafioso place his index finger on his mask where his lips would have been, signaling to the Former Don to keep the advice a secret. The motion also indicated that Aglio would deny anyone who asked about exposing the secret to Giorno. The Former Don heard a coin flip; he noticed the mafioso often played with his hands and used his Stand to keep them busy.
“Pass or fail,” Aglio let「Black and White」balance among his fingers without looking at them, “I suggest you make a good impression right away. Catching any Caporegime’s favor is a unique opportunity no one dares to miss. Many would kill to be a Capo’s Favorite more than be a guard or a Team Leader of any team. I’ve personally never been favored but I’ve heard from a few mafiosos that it’s quite a beneficial yet volatile position. Even if you never become a Favorite, being favored in any way might help you get to where you need to be regardless of whether you end up on my team or not.”
“Right,” Giorno agreed. He then placed something into the other man’s hand. Upon opening it, Aglio realized it was his broken canine from earlier. “Sorry, by the way,” the Former Don apologized, “about your tooth.”
“I can get that quickly fixed,” the mafioso reassured him as he took the tooth back and placed it into a pocket. “By the way, regarding earlier about the man I used against you, don’t worry about the Leaky Eye Luka situation. That man I used as a meat shield will take your fall instead. I have a good alibi for you that will be used so you will no longer be implicated.”
“Who was that man,” Giorno recalled the teenager that Bruno used years ago and assumed, similar to Aglio, the older man is a relative instead.
“Il Leader Alberico Rossi,” Aglio nonchalantly replied. “He is a leader of Hitman Team #23 but that team has fallen way worse ever since he started being more aggressive with his drug use among other things. That bastardo had a reputation for treating his men poorly and was rumored to turn his brother Antonio into a drug addict. The poor kid is just thirteen years old when he died of an overdose last week; the drug made him lose an arm from what I heard… I’ll have it known that you were supposed to join the syndicate under my recommendation and were simply scapegoated by Alberico because you refused to help him sell drugs to children on your way to the test. If anyone asks what happened, that’s what you answer. Mi capisci?”
“Of course,” Giorno thanked him. He remembered the kid Antonio as the one used as a meat shield instead by Bruno years ago. Seeing the late mafioso look in shock upon seeing the teenager’s drugged arm convinced Giorno that Bruno was actually a good person By the time Aglio and the Former Don ended the conversation, the two of them were at the entrance of the prison. Giorno gave a deep sigh to mentally prepare himself for the test.
“There’s the door,” Aglio motioned to the entrance. “This is where my journey with you ends until your results are revealed. Buona fortuna, Giogio.”
He let Giorno open the door and walk through the prison alone. Before the Former Don had the door close behind him, he noticed Aglio walk away and mutter something about a quick dentist appointment for his broken tooth. The door shut quickly behind and Giorno was greeted by bright fluorescent lights from what looked like a check-in area. A few women that were in the lobby seemed to be dressed in their Sunday best for an obvious conjugal visit. The Former Don went to the check-in counter to say the code word Aglio slipped in during their conversation and a guard was brought over to escort him to a different entrance of the prison. Giorno was not allowed to go through the main entrance like the other visitors, but through a back door that was disguised as a janitor’s closet. What he was greeted by next was completely different from what he remembered.
His vision struggled to adjust from being in a bright, quiet room to a large dark corridor of jail cells lined up on each side. The guard, he noticed, motioned him to a checkpoint to be pat down. “Once we pat you down,” the guard explained as he motioned another man to do the procedure, “walk straight to enter the courtyard and keep going straight until you reach the door in front of you. His Grace Polpo Ripieni will have you pat down again and properly checked in with instructions. Don’t try anything funny.”
Giorno tried to show he was going to cooperate but then realized what Aglio meant by not reacting to what the guards would do. The man patting him down was rather questionable, almost touching Giorno in parts where he shouldn’t touch, and occasionally looked to see if the Former Don was reacting in any way. The lewd comments between pats didn’t help either. The only thing separating the checkpoint from the rest of the prison was some railings that had a door to enter into. It didn’t block the noises of the prison building and Giorno could hear various noises fill the area. Most came from jeering prisoners making horrible remarks about him. Biting his tongue, he was slightly relieved that they finally let him through and proceeded to walk to the other side as instructed.
Walking down the building after being checked in was a different challenge. A prison guard snuck up behind him to pinch his face while cooing at how youthful he appeared; the guar was clearly too drunk to care about what he was doing. Another one on one of the upper levels aimed a metal cup at Giorno’s head before trying to do the same thing with a metal bucket next. The Former Don was glad that the guard missed both times but had to fight himself from reacting or flinching. He noted all the guards in the prison were wearing what looked like the police uniform but in bright green and wore some sort of black bandana on their bodies to either cover their faces or their heads. He didn’t dare to imagine if he was able to achieve high enough to be among them; his perseverance to get his syndicate back allowed him to silently continue walking down the prison as more jeers were yelled back at him.
A bullet narrowly hit his left ear out of nowhere followed by laughter. It caused Giorno to stop and remind himself to not react. “Keep it moving, ragazzo,” the guard that shot him from an upper level called out. “We don’t have all day!”
Giorno nodded and attempted to be as polite as possible. He apologized to the guard for being slow and was met with the man sneering at him back; the Former Don wondered if he should have actually answered.
“You know what an old friend of mine would call ya,” the guard taunted before pushing a buzzer to open the door for Giorno to leave. “Minorenne, obviously! I feel sorry for the geezer who gets caught tryna kiss ya sorry ass!” The guards that harassed Giorno chimed in and continued to call him such a name without stopping. He already had enough and clenched his fist in frustration before deeply inhaling once the door closed behind him. He wondered how many unfortunate candidates were hazed in such a way and whether they had endured worse. He used the fresh air and outdoor scenery to ease his mind. The walk across the courtyard was filled with some prisoners that were spending their outdoor time and some more green guards staring at Giorno as he walked. Unlike the ones in the jail cell, neither prisoner nor guard harassed him aside from a few wolf-whistles. Giorno finally made it to the last door and opened it to enter.
What he was greeted with next differed from his memories. The room was the same but he was greeted by four guards that seemed to be in the middle of their own conversations when he entered. Of the four, three of them wore the same green uniform with a black bandana, and Giorno noted that one of them resembled the same female officer that patted him down years ago. The other two were men; one was taller than the other. However, the fourth guard stood out from the rest and was sitting at the wooden desk in front of Giorno’s sight. This guard seemed to be their ringleader of sorts. The thin-looking older man also wore a police uniform but it was bright pink and much more elaborate to indicate his status. Instead of a black bandana, he wore a black full-face mask that only showed the outer parts of his face; Giorno suspected the accessory was a Moretta mask he had seen in various Italian paintings and saw that it failed to cover the wrinkles he had underneath his skin. While the other guards were standing around him, this guard was sitting at the desk and leaning back on his office chair. The Former Don noticed something black on the man’s ear and assumed it was a sort of earpiece. A gold placard among stacks of strewn paper had his name: Ogio Engio.
Once the creeky door closed behind Giorno and he cleared his throat to announce his arrival, all eyes were on him. Ogio Engio slowly stood from his desk and Giorno noticed he was squinting at him; he wondered if the older man was trying to see in the already dark room or was simply near-sighted. The taller green guard proceeded to shove the female guard toward Giorno. “Fresh meat,” the same guard exaggeratedly licked his lips. “Pat him down for us, Ivie. Be a dear, why don’t cha?”
Ogio Engio said nothing and let the guards harass the female guard further until she finally approach Giorno unwillingly. The Former Don didn’t know how to respond but gave the guard a sympathetic look that was ignored. He noticed her badge saying her full name, Ivette Novello, and used「Golden Experience 」to sneakily swiped it and the rest of her pocket money; he felt bad for doing the act but knew he needed to do it to impress Polpo while the other guards were too far away to make the action undetected. No one else noticed the Stand doing its magic by transforming the objects into tiny mosquitos that ended up flying into Giorno’s hands. The other guards were sneaking sips of alcohol while Ogio Engio pulled out a large worn book that the Former Don concluded was some sort of registry book. Giorno observed the man and noticed a golden piggy bank sitting on his desk. The object was slightly transparent, showing off various bank notes that were stuffed aggressively into it, and was being mostly used as a paperweight. Upon opening the registry, he noticed it was mostly filled with incoherent scribbles that looked like names. Most of them were crossed out or commented on how the owner of the names died.
“Aglio Nero never told me your name,” Ogio Engio leaned very close to find the next empty line; Giorno concluded the man was very near-sighted after all. What he didn’t realize was the guard, while pulling out his book, took notice of Giorno’s arm once Ivette guided him to the desk after patting him down. Despite his appearance, the older man was unusually welcoming. “What do you like to be called, ragazzo?”
“Call me Giogio,” Giorno replied. It was the name he used when he became the leader of Passione and was referred to as such by his subordinates regardless of rank.
“Interesting name,” Ogio Engio wrote down without much thought. He leaned down on the paper once again while he messily scribbled down the name next to a number. Giorno noticed that all the other names listed before him were numbered; he was number 456.
“You look a bit youthful for getting involved in this,” the pink guard added. “But, given that one of my most talented men recommended you, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. It’s sometimes nice to have young people involved in general.” The two male guards agreed; it was obvious that they had a yes-man mentality when it comes to whatever the older man said regardless.
Giorno only hummed in agreement upon hearing Ogio Engio’s words. “He’ll be waiting for you,” the older man motioned to the final door. “Ivette, be a dear and tell him the rules.”
Giorno listened to Ivette, although not attentively, as he recognized her instructions were exactly like before; he was not allowed to receive gifts and take gifts. He would have to do the trick he did to get the lighter out like before. “Thank you, Signore,” Giorno remained respectful as he made his way to be buzzed in. Before he turned his head to the entrance, he noticed Ogio Engio tap the black object on his ear and mumble something.
The Former Don thought about the bizarre name as he became engulfed in darkness once more. He never recalled anyone called Ogio Engio but it reminded him of a foreign word he heard from a Korean businessman years ago; the same man said it meant “squid”. Still, Giorno wondered why the system for initiation is much different now than it was before and his thoughts then turn to the bullet-proof glass that revealed a brightly lit jail cell.
The hallway to Polpo’s opulent cage was much darker and only illuminated by the cell’s brightly colored lights on the other side of the glass wall. Even though he had visited the room many times after becoming Don of Passione, the environment still gave him an uneasy feeling every time he walked in. Giorno tried to calm his nerves down and noticed the room was rather fancy in comparison to before; he would argue the various amounts of gold to decorate it was borderline tacky.
He made note of the opening where the lighter would be received and remembered how the unusual bed in the center is the Caporegime himself. The only thing that seemed to be notable is how dirty the place was despite its opulence. Giorno didn’t recall seeing trash littered on the ground or flies hovering around aimlessly. A few managed to escape from the glass opening and buzzed in Giorno’s ear annoyingly. He didn’t have much time to think about it when the large mass of a body finally sat up.
“Your left arm is rather injured.”
Giorno forgot that was the first thing the original Polpo said to him when he took the test. “And there are marks on your right hand too,” the fat man pointed out as well. “Why is that?”
Unlike the original man, this new Polpo was dressed in equally tacky opulence and seemed to be more of a slob pretending to be elite. Gold decorated his clothes more than before, making the entire outfit very reflective under the harsh lighting inside the cell to the point of nearly blinding Giorno himself if he didn’t squint hard enough. Polpo’s bizarre cap was also gold with similar colored objects sticking out of it. The hat reminded the Former Don of a lion’s mane that framed Polpo’s overly obese face and was the shiniest thing he wore; the imagery confirmed when the fat man took off a sleeping mask from his face and gave a disgusting yawn. Giorno noticed that the man’s black and green eyes remained the same.
The Former Don also noticed the man was also holding a square piece of what seemed to be thick paper painted red on one side and blue on the other. He remembered he saw the other male guard holding something similar earlier too, but he didn’t pay attention to the detail back then. Looking closer, Giorno realized the paper Polpo was holding was folded together in a certain way to look thick and assumed it is related to some sort of game. The fat man took a nearby cup of tea and placed the paper underneath it as a coaster as he waited for the other man to respond.
“My hand,” Giorno looked at his right hand to explain, “I was carrying a heavy bag a while ago— Your Grace, you are correct. I must have gripped it tightly. And I injured my left arm around the same time too.”
Only now did the Former Don noticed how much his voice echoed in the empty room. Polpo commented on how Giorno is young enough to injure himself like that without much care. He rambled on about how he wished he was youthful again before waddling a few paces to the left to open up his small refrigerator. The sound of him panting and straining to just move a few inches was hard for the other man to hear without grimacing; Giorno still managed to hide his thoughts but his face gave it away that he was uncomfortable about something. The fat man assumed the sour face was related to him joining Passione and nothing else.
“You seem stressed, my child,” Polpo huffed as he bent down to take out a previously used wine glass that was just rolling around earlier. He poured some more wine into it until it barely spilled over. A few drops landed on his fingers from the bottle. “Have some wine, then. Chianti Classico. I can give you some caviar and Scamorza cheese that pair very well with this drink too. I especially love to have it with some bananas.”
“Thank you,” Giorno refused, “but I’ll be okay. I was told to not receive or give anything from you. Not even weapons.” Even though he knew nothing bad would happen otherwise, he still didn’t feel comfortable giving or receiving anything except for the expected lighter. He never knew what happened to previous candidates that had accepted food and wine from Polpo before his initiation in 2001.
“Why bother,” Polpo shrugged before downing the entire glass in one gulp. Some of the wine spilled onto his shirt, blending in with the previous wine stains that were made before. He sucked on the fingers that had wine on them, not caring about the spills on his shirt as he poured himself another glass. A brief movement of the arms revealed sweat stains that could have been there for days. Giorno didn’t remember Polpo being such a slob.
“I told them to say that to anyone that comes by so the actual guards of this prison don’t suspect them to be my men. What people say and what people do are vastly different.” Like clockwork, Polpo pressed a button to reveal a vast amount of weapons and toys hidden behind a wall. He reached for a half-eaten banana that was sitting next to the teacup as he complained about being in his cell for the remainder of his life. The fat man continued his melancholy rant about not being able to see the world due to his imprisonment. The Former Don knew Polpo was only pretending to know the arts and culture as if he was a rich man; the documents left regarding Polpo’s life and work were one of the first things he read after taking over Passione. While he looked like a rich man with his opulence, he sure lacked the refinement and manners that were expected of one. That lack of elegance still held with this timeline’s Polpo— just more obvious.
Giorno’s mind wandered like before. He wondered how Polpo barely noticed the fruit flies buzzing around his body and the fruit, nor cared to see a few of them crawl onto his skin to eat the crumbs left behind. How these flies themselves got in was something only the guards would know. Giorno had to swat a fly that managed to buzz too close to his ear.
Polpo touched his ear and hummed silently. Giorno noticed that the man also seemed to be wearing some sort of earpiece similar to Ogio Engio, which was more obvious to notice due to the brighter lighting. He realized he might have been talking to the pink guard from before and wondered what sort of relationship the two of them must have to engage in such a way. He didn’t remember the original Polpo having such an agreement with anyone.
“Aglio Nero barely said anything about you,” Polpo sounded like he was repeating whatever he just heard. “You stated that your name is Giogio, correct? You’ll need to tell me about yourself then. Tell me why you want to join Passione.”
“Well, I’m twenty-five years old. I was originally from Japan but I moved to Naples when I was…”
Giorno had many things he still wondered about Polpo, both back then and now, as he began his spiel about his childhood. One: how did both the original and current Polpo fit into the same cell all these years? Two: why did he begin to hallucinate the man now eating his fingers like before? The same cuckoo clock rang once more before Giorno saw Polpo back to drinking his wine and holding the same silver lighter from years ago.
“Actually,” Polpo interrupted Giorno halfway through telling his life story. “Answer this. What do you think makes a good mafioso?”
Giorno snapped himself back to reality, pretending he didn’t notice the bizarre things he had re-witnessed before. “Their capabilities,” he answered similarly.
“And what are your capabilities,” Polpo pressed on further. As if he had rehearsed it years ago, Giorno revealed the items he stole from Ivette. He then revealed the ear trick he did with the police earlier. That was enough to amuse the man into laughter.
“I like you already,” Polpo admitted. “I would have immediately made you my guard by showing me that. But, the rules are the rules. You will need to pass the initiation like everyone else can before joining our reputable organization.” Polpo struggled to roll himself around the room before managing to scoot himself to another coffee table with a drawer. Upon opening it, he took out the same-looking silver lighter Giorno expected. “Maybe if you pass, I can give you some more honors and favors that can get you farther in this syndicate too.”
The rest of the event played the same way it happened years ago. Giorno received the lighter and instructions to do the test. He proceeded to exit the room and moved on to be patted down again while Ogio Engio seemed to be deep in a conversation with the two male guards; why Giorno took notice of the conversation, he didn’t know. The fact that the man was openly talking about “pimping out his mother” back in the past or something while the other male guards jeered on made him feel sick.
He could tell Ivette was more uncomfortable than before and trying to laugh the conversation off. While he felt bad for the young woman, he was grateful that the uncomfortableness allowed her to let him leave the prison with a flower in hand. Before he left the prison, he heard remnants of the conversation segueing Ogio Engio to talk more about his disturbing past.
The flower he held in his hand when the guard patted him down transformed back into the silver lighter once he made it outside of the prison. The petals would have burned his palms had he not transformed the lighter back sooner and Giorno passed it back and forth to ease his warm hands. Gingerly, although a bit less than he did before, he carried the lighter to his dormitory as quickly as he could while covering its flames with what he could. To the outside world, he was a teenager hunching over and appearing to be spoking thanks to the lighter; for the most part, he was ignored aside from a few passing elders making snide remarks on the youth being irresponsible about their health.
If he can simply pass the test with no outside interaction and possibly convince Koichi to not get involved or at least help him prevent lives from being compromised, no one would die or at least get hurt like before. As he crossed the next street, Giorno noticed a familiar stranger holding the same suitcase he stole from Koichi idly setting it down at a cafe underneath the table; it was the same man he sold Koichi’s stuff from before. The Former Don changed directions to pretend to pass by the stranger again to say hello. All Giorno did was nod and subtly kicked the suitcase as he walked by once he received a nod back. Using「Golden Experience 」, he transformed the suitcase into a snake that began trailing behind Giorno before it slithered up to his ankle; it remained motionless to resemble some bizarre clothing accessory around his leg. As the snake settled, the Former Don noticed Koichi in a distance and walked into the latter’s line of sight. Koichi, who was in the middle of being on the phone with Dr. Jotaro Kujo, saw Giorno again and took the bait while wondering why the latter was walking bizarrely. The two of them made their way to Giorno’s school campus, unaware of a third man following.
The school Giorno went to was one of many International Schools in Naples that allowed native Italians to be educated via a free scholarship chosen through a lottery. While Giorno is considered a native Italian and his family lived close enough to not require living in the dormitories, he took the opportunity to have his on-campus dorm in 2000 to avoid interacting with his parents often. On top of that, back then, it was easier for him to get away with committing petty crimes, as well as hide his mafia business until he “dropped out” for the first few months of his time as Passione’s leader. The school itself, although prideful of its involvement in student life and academics, really only said it for show. Like many things in life, it has its games and unwritten policies that many would consider corrupt and easy to take advantage of if one knows how to manipulate it. The school was able to get massive funding in recent years, which included better internet service and air conditioning units for on-campus students that were willing to pay extra money to have them installed. Giorno was lucky to be one of those students that received the privilege from a lottery selection he entered a year before he became Don of Passione.
Giorno noted how hot the weather was now and tried to avoid his sweat from possibly dripping down and touching the flame as a result. Like before, he ignored and refused to help other students and faculty members so that the lighter wouldn’t be extinguished: the group of soccer players, the old janitor, and many more. By the time he made it to his room, he closed the door but allowed the snake to slide into his room first. He saw at a distance how Koichi was already on campus and trying to figure out where Giorno went and stood in the window a bit more to get the other person’s attention. The same snake managed to get itself into a closet near the window, causing its door to slightly close on itself once it transformed itself back into the suitcase. Giorno noticed the piece of bread he abandoned before and hollowed it out to hold his lighter. He then opened his desk drawer to take out some supplies he stole from his school’s science labs a while ago.
He didn’t recall why he took those years ago but assumed it was to either sell them to desperate students or for his use. Giorno decided to use his current supply of remaining items to bag up some DNA that he remembered Koichi tried to get from him.
For good measure, he had three separate small ziplock bags to store his samples: one for his skin, one for some of his hair, and one to hold a vial full of some blood drops. Giorno snipped an end of his ponytail into the bag designated for his hair, pricked his finger to bleed into the vial, and used a spare razor to scrape a bit of his finger’s skin off before gingerly placing it onto a glass slide. While Koichi only wanted a skin sample before, he ended up requesting other DNA samples a few weeks after they met, and Giorno decided to just give it all in one go this time around instead. He had a feeling that, while setting up his items, Koichi would either be working on breaking into the door or climbing up to get through the window. Placing the DNA samples into a larger ziplock bag to place neatly on his desk and grabbing the lighter from the bread, Giorno then sat patiently on the edge of his bed and waited. He was sitting in an area that was considered to be a blind spot to whoever tried to look into his room from the outside window.
Koichi decided that he was going to get to the room in a way other than just breaking through the door. Once he spotted Giorno’s head in the window from his limited perspective, as the Former Don expected, he managed to climb himself up the wall and entered the dorm room with the help of 「Echoes」. With a slight push from his Stand, before it disappeared once more, he opened the window wide enough for him to go through. He looked around, thinking that no one was around as he stepped into the area, as he muttered about figuring out where to look for his items.
“Koichi Hirose, was it?”
Koichi turned around and immediately summoned「Echoes」once more. Giorno was still sitting on his bed, lighter in his left hand. The other was covering the flame as best as he could. He briefly removed that hand to raise it, indicating to the other that he didn’t plan to cause harm or hold anything besides the lighter in hand.
Giorno cut to the chase. “You want some sort of DNA sample of mine, don't you? That's why you came to Italy.”
Koichi was caught off-guard by how direct Giorno was. “How did you…” the teenager was at a loss for words. “え? Are you speaking Japanese to me right now? You know how to speak Japanese?”
“You wanted to know if I’m related to a man named Dio Brando,” Giorno continued to ask in the same language as before, “an enemy of the Joestar family, right?”
He didn’t want to sound like he was threatening anyone and Giorno made sure he wasn’t conveying that in any way. He was glad that he got to relearn his native language when he became the leader of Passione and was fluent enough to communicate in this situation; his accent in Japanese was more noticeable than his accent in Italian though. Giorno got up from the bed and slowly stood up in front of Koichi. “I know what you’re here for and why you decided to sneak into my dorm,” he continued to speak in Japanese. “I don’t plan on hurting you— unless it is out of self-defense— but I don’t think you plan to do that right now.”
The two of them stared at each other. Koichi did not expect this to happen, especially with Jotaro Kujo’s initial warning regarding Giorno. “Are you Haruno Shiobana,” he asked. He didn’t dare make「Echoes」disappear just yet. Giorno nodded to confirm.
“I go by Giogio now,” he introduced himself. “よろしくおねがいします. And this is my Stand:「Golden Experience 」. I don’t mean any harm and will not hurt you unless it is to defend myself.” With just a wave of his free hand, he revealed the Stand, which waved at the other Stand User to greet him. Koichi hesitantly waved back as「Echoes」decided to appear to say hello. The tension still felt high for both Stand Users.
“Had I known you were Koichi,” Giorno tried to apologize, “I wouldn’t have stolen your items earlier. Please, you must know that I didn’t mean to inconvenience you with my actions.” Koichi noticed the lighter in his hand and asked him about it. Giorno decided to trust him with this information.
“I need to keep this lit for the next twenty-four hours,” he explained. “Innocent lives will be at stake if this is unlit at any point for any reason. If you help me succeed, I can provide you with as many samples as The Speedwagon Foundation and Dr. Kujo need—”
“How do you know that,” Koichi felt uneasy with how Giorno knew all this and was willing. “I never told you who I am, what I’m doing— I never even mentioned anything about the Foundation, or Mr. Kujo, or any DNA sample… Who are you?”
He wondered if this was some sort of act, which Giorno reassured otherwise. “I can’t explain everything right away,” the Former Don tried his best to explain, “but I can assure you that I have no affiliation or any desire to be affiliated with Dio Brando besides him being my biological father. I know who he is, especially who he was to the Joestars, and I don’t condone his actions toward them. I also know you were sent here to Italy to investigate me. I’m willing to cooperate if that means proving that I don’t mean any harm to the Joestars or Kujos. You have my word.” He wasn’t sure whether he should have been using the polite dialect when he was speaking all of this in Japanese to Koichi, but at least it lets the other know that Giorno was trying to be respectful.
He pointed at his closet, motioning the other Stand User to open it. Koichi turned to face the wardrobe and hesitantly opened the door, finding his original suitcase inside it. Shock briefly went through his body but he picked up the suitcase after confirming that it belonged to him. Upon throwing it onto Giorno’s bed and opening it hastily, Koichi was more shocked to find all his passport, documents, money, and other clothes still inside. “I wouldn’t have sold your stuff if I recognized you earlier,” Giorno tried to sound guilty as if he didn’t know that he initially stole from him. “But, I got your stuff back. Everything you had in there the way it was and there’s no need to buy it back from me. You can see it for yourself.”
Koichi could confirm that everything he packed was there. There was no way Giorno would be able to get counterfeit copies of his documents and the same brand and size of clothes right away on such short notice. Even the small holes and stray strands that already existed on a few of his shirts and pants from general wear and tear were still there, indicating that those were his original clothes and not just something recently bought to replace them. Everything, aside from a few things that were placed in different compartments due to Giorno and the buyer rummaging through the items earlier, was where it was before.
Koichi tried to ask more questions to pry further. Even with the luggage back in his possession and Giorno’s willingness to cooperate, Koichi was still hesitant to trust him completely. The original Dio Brando was crafty to say the least, according to Dr. Jotaro Kujo, so this whole thing might have been some great scheme of Giorno’s to gain Koichi’s trust before backstabbing him once more. Before Giorno could answer any of them, the two Stand Users heard the room’s air conditioner turned on. While the school allowed the use of air conditioners for the most privileged pupils, when the machines could be operated was out of anyone’s control. Giorno recalled how some college doctorate students from Il Politecnico di Milano used something called Machine Learning to limit climate control in a way that kept students comfortable while minimizing energy waste a few months before his encounter with Bruno; it was a completely new technology in terms of being commercialized and used outside of purely academic spaces. Unfortunately, it had to turn on at that moment with the highest setting which caused the flame to flicker. The colorful paper that stuck onto the grills fluttered. “Merda,” Giorno cursed as he tried to cover the flames. Koichi asked him what was wrong.
“We have to keep this lit no matter what,” the Former Don tried to not panic in vain as he continued to cover the lighter. “I need to get out of here now.”
“ちょっと待って!” Koichi tried to make Giorno stay but it was in vain. The Former Don hurried out of his dorm room, unable to answer the teenager’s further questions and demanded him to return. Before he could further protest, he shivered upon realizing how intense the air conditioning was. Koichi had no choice but to follow the Former Don behind, leaving his suitcase in the room unattended. Giorno realized the dorm rooms weren’t the only areas that had their air conditioning turned on but the hallways and the rest of the buildings.
He needed to leave the whole area. They were lucky that the students were either holed up in their dorms at the moment to take advantage of the cool air or had just went home for the day. Koichi struggled to keep up with the other man as Giorno finally made it down a familiar flight of stairs. The Former Don was grateful that no breeze came through at the moment and was grateful for the sun is extremely hot for once. He was closer to an open space where he could safeguard the lighter, forgetting that Koichi was not far behind and trying to get his attention. Koichi had no choice but to bring「Echoes」out to stop Giorno. “Act Three,” the teenager called out to use his ability.
In a desperate move, he used his Stand to weigh Giorno’s foot down, causing the latter to fall and let go of the lighter. Giorno tried to grab it with「Golden Experience 」, but the object fell into a recently made puddle of water and immediately extinguished just as his Stand barely grabbed it. He recalled the moment when the janitor should have splashed water at him and caused the lighter to summon「Black Sabbath」; now he wondered why things were switching up. Koichi finally caught up to Giorno and was about to ask more questions when he noticed the Former Don’s face. Giorno gave him a look of genuine fear.
He couldn’t be upset with Koichi for causing this, but the other Stand User realized the lighter he tried to catch was now being picked up by someone else: the elderly janitor that was once innocently killed years ago. It didn’t take more than a second for Koichi to notice the Former Don’s face and come to a similar realization. Giorno began being filled with guilt and worry that the old man whom he refused to help twice; now he was going to see the old man die again.
“Ragazzo,” the old man set down some brooms as he inspected the lighter, “you seemed to have dropped this. Forgive me for the puddles. I was cleaning up the courtyard, but a little water doesn’t hurt anyone, no?”
Koichi didn’t realize that he was still using「 Echoes Act 3」to hold Giorno down. The Former Don went back and forth between telling the janitor to not touch the lighter further and begging Koichi to let him go, switching between Italian and Japanese respectively. The old man didn’t seem to pay attention to how panicked Giorno was, only admiring the intricate details of the lighter aloud while Koichi was still processing what had happened. “Let’s see if we can still turn this on,” the janitor put his hand on the fork to ignite it.
“Wait!”
But it was too late. The old janitor relit the lighter once more, the bright heat of the light being felt on Giorno’s face when it turned on. Koichi wondered why the Former Don was freaked out at seeing such a seemingly banal thing function the way it supposedly should. The elderly man knelt to reach Giorno’s level and handed the lighter back to the latter. The janitor playfully showed that it still worked, completely unaware of what was to come, and continued to admire the strong flame that came out. “You don’t want to lose this,” he ignorantly commented as he leaned down to the Stand User. “It’s such a pretty little t—”
The Stand Arrow was mere inches away from Giorno’s face as he saw it pierce through the old man. He could feel the poor janitor’s blood splatter onto his face before the Stand Arrow retracted. That was enough shock to make Koichi let Giorno go and move away from the scene before him. Koichi yelled in horror as a tall brooding figure rose from the ground, still holding the old man’s body before throwing it on the ground, and took the Stand Arrow back into its mouth. Apart from its head wearing the familiar black Venetian hat, it looked nothing like the original「Black Sabbath」. Instead, it had a terrifying appearance that looked barely human with multiple hands coming out of its body and no legs– it seemed tethered to the shadow it was standing inside of. The Stand seemed to wear what looked like a vibrantly patterned yet dark business suit, with whatever part of its body that wasn’t clothed covered in gold and silver chainmail. The word “Y2K” was written on its forehead, indicating its new name.
“Unworthy,” the Stand known as「Y2K」bellowed before disappearing into the nearby shadow once more.
Giorno got up immediately and turned to Koichi before looking frantically around to find the Stand once more. “This is why I needed that lighter to remain lit,” he reassured the other Stand User that it wasn’t his fault for the situation to escalate so far. “If the lighter ever extinguished, that Stand you just saw would come out and kill anyone it runs into. I was afraid that this would happen.”
“What is that Stand,” Koichi tried to ask, but one look at Giorno told him that even the Former Don didn’t know. However, what caught Giorno’s attention next was a male figure casually standing on the rooftop. While the figure quickly tried to hide as soon as it was noticed, the Former Don could tell who it was based on the uniform; it was bright pink.
The fat man named Polpo Ripieni was merely a puppet; the real Caporegime was Ogio Engio. And he was here to see the test go through.
Translations:
- Il Leader: the leader. While the term "Capo" is used by team leaders within Passione as well as the actual Caporegimes, Passione wants to make a clear distinction between those who have the actual role of Caporegime and those who are merely subbordinates. Team leaders, regardless of status and experience, are regarded professionally as "Il Leader" instead.
- Bastardo: bastard.
- Mi capisci?: Do you understand me?
- Buona fortuna: good luck.
Ragazzo: boy.
- Minorenne: jailbait. The word literally translates to "underage".
- え?: a noise used in Japanese that people make as a response in conversation and used for various purposes. In this case, it is to ask for something to be explained.
- よろしくおねがいします: It's nice to meet you. Although there is no literal translation for this phrase, it is typically used when introducing oneself.
- Il Politecnico di Milano: The Polytechnic University of Milan known for being the oldest university in Milan and its engineering programs. While it is a real institution, consider this as a fictionalized version for the sake of the story.
- Merda: shit.
- ちょっと待って!: Wait a minute!
Name Meanings:
- Polpo Ripieni
- Polpo: Italian word for "squid". In reference to Polpo.
- Ripieni: Italian word for "stuffed, filled". In music, it is the body of instruments accompanying the concertino in baroque concerto music.
- Alberico Rossi
- Alberico: Italian name for "elf king".
- Rossi: Italian surname for "red-haired". In reference to Antonio Rossi.
- Ogio Engio
- Ogio Engio: a play on the Italianized pronunciation of "오징어", meaning "squid".
- Ivette Novello
- Ivette: Italian variation of the name "Yvette", meaning "yew". In reference to rock musician Yvette Young.
- Novello: Italian word for "new, young".