Chapter Text
Abbacchio didn’t trust the new guys. Didn’t like them either.
Now, this came to the surprise of literally nobody, including himself. He didn’t like people in general, simple as that.
(Well. Except for Bruno. But he was a literal angel among men and only an idiot wouldn’t like him. At the very least he could agree upon that with the kids.)
But this was different. The newbies were….. weird.
Giorno was a blonde little brat who looked like he hadn’t struggled a day in his life. He was too…… perfect looking, not a single blemish to be seen or hair out of place. No matter where you looked, and believe me Abbacchio had looked hard, there wasn’t a flaw to be found . He always moved with a stupid amount of poise and grace, footsteps quiet like a cat’s and never once looking caught off guard. And the kid wasn’t just a pretty face either, he was smart. He noticed things, small little things that usually only Abbacchio noticed. The kid knew about Abbacchio’s distaste. He definitely knew about the tea. But instead of getting pissy or tattling on Bucciarati, he stayed quiet.
On top of pissing him off, all of it was just plain freaky.
And Jotaro…..
Well. Where to even start with the bastard.
Under normal circumstances, Abbacchio would’ve had begrudging respect for him. He made it clear he wasn’t interested in any of them, but didn’t take any bullshit. He was built like a fucking truck, taller than even Abbacchio was, but he wasn’t a meathead and actually had some braincells. He was admittedly similar to Giorno when it came to brains and noticing things, but he was different in his execution. Blunter for one thing, not even bothering with any pretty words or manipulations. He gave the hard straight facts without any bullshit.
Unfortunately for him, any and all possible respect was thrown out the window because of his stupid fucking outfit.
He’d heard his explanation along with the rest of them when Narancia got nosey and asked. The simple “I’m allergic to the sun” without any elaboration.
And Abbacchio was calling bullshit.
That guy was wrapped up in so many layers that you couldn’t see a spot of skin anywhere. If the sun really was that dangerous for the man then why the hell had he joined the mafia? Abbacchio’s closet could attest to the fact that this line of work went though more clothes than the average person would want to deal with, from bullet holes to knife wounds to whatever the fuck could happen in a Stand Fight.
Unless Jotaro had a complete and total disregard for his life, it didn’t hold up. People only covered up that much when they didn’t want to be recognized and had absolutely no shot at a disguise.
Hence Abbacchio’s current plan.
Jotaro was currently gone with Narancia to grab groceries and wouldn’t be back for another hour. Fugo refused to leave the patio and was waiting for them to come back. Mista was doing a perimeter sweep outside. Bruno and Giorno were talking in the living room. Trish had holed herself up in her room.
Meaning no one was around to see him using Moody to get some answers.
Jotaro had also very conveniently gone upstairs before he’d gone to leave with Narancia, and the stairs themselves were quite loud. Only Trish was up there in her room, so Abbacchio didn’t even have to run the risk of someone sneaking up on him and asking questions (lord knows Bruno wouldn’t be happy if he ever found out). Now, he wasn’t quite sure where upstairs Jotaro had gone, but he could simply follow Moody, so easy fix.
Moody Blues slowly peeled off of him and stood, the digital clock on its head gradually ticking up until it slowed to a stop at around 23 minutes and 56 seconds.
“Let’s see what you’re hiding beneath that coat.” he muttered to himself, eyes narrowing as Moody slowly shifted. It took barely a second before it changed, and soon enough Jotaro was standing right in front of him on the stairs.
“Play,” he commanded.
The copy took a few slow, expected steps up the stairs.
And then just as he left the view of the main room.
He vanished.
Suddenly and abruptly, Jotaro was gone. He didn’t seem to be hit by anything, he didn’t even fade or fizzle out. Just one moment he was there and the next he was gone and Moody reverted back to its usual form.
For a moment Abbacchio had thought that something was wrong with Moody. He rewinded the Stand briefly…. but the exact thing happened again.
What the fuck.
Okay, wait, think about this logically. It obviously wasn’t an attack or anything the man thought was dangerous, meaning Jotaro was likely the one responsible. Abbacchio still didn’t know what his Stand could do, none of them did, but whatever it was it was fucking fast . Much faster than a human. First there was how he managed to get to the docks before they had, then there was catching Zucchero on the boat. Who’s to say he didn’t use it to move. Based on how he’d only been upstairs for a few minutes, he likely hadn’t gone that far.
He felt out with Moody, feeling for the echoes of people who had walked these halls. No one had been here very recently thank god, but it still took a moment until-
There.
Behind one of the doors. Not Trish’s thankfully, that would’ve been awkward, but instead the door next to it.
Abbacchio easily closed the distance, walking up the last few remaining stairs and down the hall, and behind the door was……
The bathroom.
Moody quickly zipped over to where Jotaro had been by the toilet, and for a brief second Abbacchio was ready to skip over it……
But the man was hunched over it.
The layers of cloth were peeled away from his face but his hunched over frame prevented Abbacchio from getting a clear look.
But even without seeing his face, it was obvious he was sick.
Okay…… definitely not what he expected. The man hadn’t shown any signs of being sick earlier, so that either meant the apparent nausea had been very sudden or the guy was really good at hiding it.
Abbacchio sped up the replay. Even with the fast forward, it took a few seconds before Jotaro finally stood up, flushing the toilet as he did so. He made his way over to the sink and-
“Pause.” he commanded his Stand.
-and Abbacchio couldn’t help but stare.
He looked… okay this was going to sound crazy, but he didn’t look that human.
The features were….
wrong
. He had two eyes, a nose, mouth, all the things that most people had but at the same time it was
off.
Like the strangeness of Giorno cranked up to an 11. His eyes were a blue almost as vibrant as the sky and sea itself, but around the pupils (
which were too sharp too long not
right
)
they were crackled with bits of red like shattered glass. And his
skin,
it was horrifyingly pale, almost looking
translucent
in some places. Abbacchio could practically count the veins and-
And now that he was looking at his face, he noticed Jotaro looked…. boney. His eyes were gaunt and his cheeks were hollow, the latter only being accentuated further by his sharp cheekbones.
Definitely way too boney to be losing meals like that.
There was also a strange…… youthfulness to his appearance. From the way he spoke and acted Abbacchio had assumed he was in his late 20s, maybe early 30s, but under the face mask he looked……. young, sorta. Sure the gaunt features and sheer exhaustion made him look older but if you were to fill him out a bit more…….
He looked like a teenager.
And that made a little, minuscule piece of Abbacchio squirm a bit. He was an asshole but…… nobody, especially not a kid (if Jotaro even was one), deserved to look like that.
During his time on the force he’d seen a few cases that still kept him up at night, and some of those cases had involved kids who were far too skinny and quiet and with eyes that should’ve been bright holding nothing but a dull haunted look no child should ever have.
And while Jotaro wasn’t anywhere near their ages, the look in his eyes was pretty similar.
There was a muted pain in those blue orbs. A tenseness in his face, a heaviness in his shoulders, slight indents in his lips that spoke of having gnawed on them far too many times but lacking any scars.
But it looked so…… normal to the man. A whispered “play” sent Moody back into motion and he was just…… casual. His movements were easy and practiced, and not once did his expression shift.
This was frankly none of his business. He’d done this to figure out Jotaro’s identity and any possible threats, not analyze him for any…… whatever the hell this was.
So why did Abbacchio feel like he accidentally stumbled upon a rabbit hole far deeper than he first anticipated.