Bloody Golden Butterfly [JJBA Fanfiction] (Giorno x Jolyne)

54. Peter Pan

Giorno had not yet gotten off the boat after parting ways with Jolyne when he was called with a report of an incident that smelled of a malicious stand user all over. The wreckage and the chaos in the ports that were hidden from a normal person's eye said as much. However, when he rushed over to the site, he found something unexpected.

Rikiel's soul was already escaping his body by the time Giorno reached him; it was no wonder, with all the deep cuts and bruises covering him. His sorry state reminded Giorno too much of Abbacchio's in Sardinia. For once, Giorno was glad to not be quite human, as it gave him more stamina to give emergency treatment on the spot.

Only once he was certain that Rikiel's vitals were stable and he was no longer in danger did he step back and allow his men to bring over a stretcher. As they loaded him onto it, Rikiel opened his eyes, connecting his gaze to Giorno's. He cracked a weak smile. As Giorno found himself smiling back, Rikiel closed his eyes again.

Giorno watched as his men moved him to a boat that would take him to the palazzo, where he would recuperate and allow his body to rapidly heal thanks to his vampire blood. When they were out of sight, Giorno released a breath and took out a handkerchief to clean his hands of his brother's blood. After he was done, he tucked away the handkerchief and pulled out his phone.

He knew just who to call. A part of him wanted to handle the situation on his own, confident that he could control everything, but another part remembered the tragedy that occurred five years ago as a result of his own overconfidence. It wasn't worth it just to try to prove something.

"Dr. Kujo," Giorno said as soon as the call connected. "There's been a new development. My men just got a hold of one of my brothers here in Venice this morning."

"Is it Donatello?" Jotaro asked immediately.

"No, we weren't that lucky. Rikiel was found heavily wounded and almost dead at the ports. It appears there was a fight beforehand, and his assailant managed to flee; I'll have my men investigate the area. For now, Rikiel is being taken to the palazzo. Once he regains consciousness, he may be able to tell us some interesting things."

"Are you sure he can be trusted?"

Giorno nodded to himself. "We can't consider him an ally yet, but I suppose the enemy of our enemy is our friend."

"I took a ship ahead of the others, so I'll be back in a day," Jotaro replied in a dry voice, as usual. Just as Giorno thought they had reached the end of their conversation, Jotaro continued. "And... how is Jolyne?"

Giorno paused. He knew that Koichi updated Jotaro about his family's well-being regularly. If Jotaro wanted to know anything about them, he just had to ask his trusted subordinate. Yet, he had asked Giorno instead and only about Jolyne.

"She's been working really hard in her training," Giorno replied vaguely. "I hear Signora Elizabeth Joestar speak wonderful things about her."

"I see," Jotaro said. "That's good to hear."

Giorno knew he should leave it at that, but he couldn't help adding, "I think Jolyne is satisfied with everything she's achieved for herself, but she wouldn't mind hearing a little praise from her father once in a while."

The silence on the other end of the line was prominent. If Giorno didn't hear Jotaro's breathing, he would have thought he had left.

After many long seconds, Jotaro broke the silence. "You're very skilled in analyzing people, Mr. Giovanna."

"It's just part of my role to notice these things." His role as Jolyne's husband, that is. "If you'll allow me to depart some advice to you, Dr. Kujo, talk to your daughter. As much faith as she has in you, I'm sure she would be happy just hearing a few compliments from you."