Chapter Text
Feeling unknown and you're all alone
Flesh and bone by the telephone
Lift up the receiver, I'll make you a believer
It was Friday, Haruno was on the way home. He didn’t run into the bizarre man which made him both disappointed and relieved. Though, when he got closer to his house, he felt eyes on him. Not again. The few people around weren’t staring at him, their heads weren't even turned to his direction. Maybe he was simply being paranoid. Yeah, that’s gotta be it. But it was still a terrible feeling. It was like something was burning through him.
When he entered his house, he saw his mother on the phone. She laughed while chatting with someone, a friend, he presumes. She glanced at him and her face fell, replaced with a disappointed expression. Haruno knew she was thinking “Oh great, it’s you.”
“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m listening. Haruno just came home… Ugh, I hate seeing his face. Fuckin’ kid I swear…” He walked away, not wanting to hear another word his mother says. Seeing her frown whenever she makes eye contact with him is awful enough. He didn’t need to hear her sigh and grumble how unhappy Haruno’s entire depressing existence makes her. He already knows it.
Besides his mother talking on the phone and the squeaking floorboards, the house was pretty quiet. His stepdad wasn’t home, but the smell of booze always seems to linger. At this point, he was pretty used to the damn odor. He wanted to hang out at the pond with all the little frogs, but his bullies were there… Torturing the poor frogs, no doubt. That’s what all the neighborhood kids usually do. Stomp on plants, kick strays, if they weren’t hurting animals and plants, they were tormenting him. Haruno was often told to “go back to his own country” as they shove to the ground, laughing at his misery.
He’s lucky to be able to avoid their torture, on a Friday too. But those little frogs at the pond… There’ll be less than half the next time he visits. Maybe there won’t be any at all.
The thought saddens him, but there’s nothing he could do. He was just some pathetic child. Maybe it was his fault. He had to be the cause of their demise.
The horrible thoughts that plagued him distracted him from Kars. He sat still as he watched the young boy go along his day, silently judging every action. (Not in a bad way, of course!) One thing Kars noted is how messy the inside of the house was. Beer cans and bottles littered the ground right next to the living room couch, dishes piled up in the sink, and the trash has yet to get thrown out. There was even mold growing on the walls. Kars stood up, moving towards the front of the house. At the same time, the door swung open, Giorno’s mother stepped out and made eye contact with Kars.
It was awkward, mainly the first few seconds. She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, walking towards him with a smile. Kars nose scrunched up. She smelled too much like perfume. It did a fine job concealing the smell of stale cigarette smoke, but God, the smell was strong. Honestly, it was almost disgusting.
“Hello there, handsome,” She purred, batting her eyelashes. “What’s your name?”
He was a bit hesitant, there was something about this woman that he didn’t like, but he wasn’t sure what it was. “...Kars.” He finally answered. The woman giggled and twirled her hair around her finger.
Kars gaze shifted towards the window of her house. He saw a small figure staring at him. It has to be Giorno, he thought, or would it be Haruno?
She stared at him with confusion written on her face and turned around. She noticed her child watching the two interact and quickly he moved away. Letting out an annoyed huff, she turned back around with an awkward laugh.
“Ah, sorry. That’s just my son. Ignore him,” She said, little does she know Kars was going to do the exact opposite. “Anyway, you’re from not around here, are you? Well, neither am I.”
He nodded, pretending to be interested in her life. “So, your son-”
“Like I said, just ignore him. He’s… weird. All he does is stare all the damn time. It’s uncomfortable! Trust me, you don’t want to meet him,” She interrupted. Kars noticed her eyebrows furrowing angrily as she spoke about him.
The woman continued her not-so-subtle flirting, asking him if he wanted to go to a bar or some party with her. To be honest, Kars didn’t care about any of that stuff. It just pissed him off that she refused to talk about Giorno (or Haruno?) In fact, she avoided the topic entirely. She made up excuses and acted like her son was some unsettling creature that lives in her house. He quickly lost interest, this whole conversation was going nowhere.
“I’m leaving.” He stated. Her eyes became wide as she gripped onto his arm, as if that would hold him back.
“Wait - no - stay! Please, I promise you’ll have a good time!” Haruno’s mother begged, pulling on his arm. “My husband won’t find out, just come with me!”
The desperation in her voice was almost pitiful, but it was kind of funny too. Her actions were almost childish. She was like a kid whining about some candy her parents refused to buy her. Kars wonders if she was going to throw a tantrum too.
She gave up and frowned. “Whatever! You’re a fucking piece of shit anyway.” She muttered more insults but in a foreign language. The woman walked away.
Haruno has to live with this excuse of a mother? How sad. If he wasn’t stuck in space during this time he would’ve taken him away from her.
~~~
Cigarette smoke was an awful smell. It was worse for Kars, his senses were far greater than a regular human’s. He could pick up on things others can’t. He looked over to see a man who reeked of alcohol, smoke, and sweat. A disgusting combination. He could even smell old food on the guy which made it even worse. Not only did Haruno have to live some poor excuse of a mother, but this man as well?
Kars could only wonder how he grew up to be such an ambitious and admirable individual. His respect for Giorno only increased.
The Pillar Man wasn’t going through the same, shitty conversation but with Haruno’s (step)father. Instead, he opted to watch his behavior instead. You could learn a lot about a person if you see how they act. Kars camouflaged himself in the background, observing everything through the dirty windows. The man shouted Haruno’s name. While he waited, he unbuckled his belt and waited for the little boy to show up. Kars quickly recognized the black and unkempt hair, but he didn’t know what was going to happen. Though, he did notice how tense Haruno was.
When he finally realized what was going on, it was already too late. The belt struck Haruno’s face and left a bright red mark. The entire scene made Kars’s blood boil (almost like Esidisi) but it also baffled him. He killed a child before and he does feel a bit of guilt, but it wasn’t his own. They were from a Hamon Tribe, they were a human.
And here this man was, striking a child he is supposed to raise. For what damn reason? He wasn’t supposed to do this shit, it was wrong.
Without thinking, Kars slammed his fist on the window, causing the glass to break. He pulled his arm away and fled. He mentally scolded himself for doing such a foolish action. Maybe, just maybe, the noise caused Haruno’s stepfather to stop his abuse, making him investigate what broke the window. But that was wishful thinking, wasn’t it? That bastard just continued with twice as much force, twice as much anger. Blaming Haruno for something he didn’t do.
Hopefully, he could make it up to Haruno.
~~~
Kars’s hand shifted into green slime before turning it into multiple ladybugs. He let the loveliness of ladybugs crawl onto the window before knocking gently. There was a few seconds of silence, making him wonder whether or not the boy was asleep. Then the window slowly slid open, allowing the beetles to fly inside the room. There was a soft gasp and a smile made its way onto Kars’s face. Giorno always mentioned how ladybugs were a symbol of luck, he even had three emblems of them on his clothing. It also appeared on his Stand, Gold Experience, as well. At least that’s what the others have said. He peeked through the window and saw the ladybugs flying around him, maybe even landing on him for a short while. He’d never admit it out loud but he thought the sight was adorable. Yet, the sight of the blue and purple bruises sickened him, but there wasn’t anything Kars could do to treat them.
The little beetles returned to Kars, transforming back to his Stand. Haruno’s face fell, then he stared blankly at the Pillar Man. The two just looked at each other for a few seconds. The awkwardness of it all was painful.
“Hello.”
“...Hi.”
Kars glanced away for a moment. To be honest, this little talk could’ve been going better.
“Sorry for uh - breaking your window.” Not that bad of an attempt to apologize.
Haruno blinked, his eyes going wide. “That was... you?”
“Yes.”
“Why… uh, um…” There was a short pause, he was searching for the correct word. He needs to pratice Italian a little more. “Why did you break it?”
“I saw what happened to you,” Kars answered. “That man… the bastard who hurt you.”
“Oh.”
The two became silent, then the small boy spoke up. “The ladybugs…”
“Did you like them?” He grinned when Haruno nodded. “That’s good.”
“Sometimes I make froggies, but… that makes him mad…” Kars knew he was referring to his stepfather.
“How do you do it?”
“I don’t know… my hands… they glow when I hold something and-” A rock was shoved into his face. Confused, he looked up at Kars.
“Focus your energy into turning this rock into a - uh - a froggy. Can you do that?” He watched the child nod and grab the rock.
A few minutes passed but absolutely nothing happened. Haruno began getting nervous when the rock didn’t change at all. Was he going to get angry if he failed? The Pillar Man reached over and placed a hand on the child’s head, making him slightly flinch.
“It’s okay. You can try again later,” He moved his hand to the rock, placing it somewhere else. “That ability of yours is called a Stand. Something that’s always by your side. Yours is named Gold Experience.”
Haruno repeated the name to himself. He silently urged Kars to tell him more about his Stand.
“Gold Experience is an incredible Stand. It gives life to inanimate objects. I’ve never seen it for myself, but as the name suggests, it’s the color of gold. I know for a fact that it shimmers so beautifully, like a lone star in the night sky,” He continued to describe the Stand, making it seem like he was speaking about some holy deity. The child listened, eyes wide with fascination.
He let out a soft yawn and rubbed his eyes. Kars tilted his head and asked. “Are you tired?”
The boy sleepily nodded. “Just a little…”
The Pillar Man crawled through the window, flattening and shifting his body a bit so he didn’t get stuck. He knelt down and lifted Haruno. For a moment, he froze. Haruno felt so thin and so cold. It didn’t feel right. His gaze turned to his bed, there’s no damn way he could keep himself warm in that thin blanket. The child nuzzled into the man’s shoulder, almost as if he hasn’t been held so gently in years.
Actually, that may be true.
He was neglected and abused. Kars might as well proclaim himself as his parent since his actual ones don’t seem to be responsible enough to take care of him. It’s not like he has no idea what he was doing, he had experience with raising children. But Haruno was nothing like Wamuu and Santana, he’s a lot more fragile.
Kars decided to mimic Esidisi’s Flame Mode. He increased his body temperature, careful not to raise it too high. Haruno already has many bruises littered all over his body, he doesn’t need to get a first-degree burn too.
“Warm…” The young boy mumbled, his eyelids slowly closed. Kars did not know what kind of emotion he was experiencing but it was pleasant. Watching Haruno fall asleep in his arms ignited the desire to protect him, to raise him as his own.
Unfortunately, he can’t stay in his room forever. Kars moved towards the small bed and placed an arm on it. He made it warm so Haruno wouldn’t get cold. He did the same for his blanket and pillow before setting the child down and tucking him in.
He’s not getting soft, is he? He’s only doing it because he’s a vulnerable child! Plus, he is Giorno after all, just not the one he knows.
The Pillar Man exited through the window and shut it. He can’t let little Haruno get cold after he just warmed up his bed.
Take second best, put me to the test
Things on your chest, you need to confess
I will deliver, you know I'm a forgiver