Chapter Text
The strong aroma of freshly poured coffee filled the entirety of the university’s cafeteria.
A low jazzy tune played on the radio, it was the perfect ambiance white noise for blending the murmurs of diners with the occasional clang of the metal utensils against the ceramic and glass of their meals. It was a cozy environment with a good atmosphere where both students and teachers could focus on their duties during their lunch break, despite all the possible distracting factors around. It was good for the mind and body after spending many hours on lectures.
Giorno wasn’t an exception to this collective behavior from the alumni. He regularly visited the cafe to grab coffee and some sweets (chocolate and pudding preferred if available) and to study in his free time before classes. He also meets frequently with his closest friends Trish and Fugo twice a week since those are the only times that their schedules from each of their majors permit them.
Today was one of the two days they could meet. Although tests were upcoming in three weeks, the trio held and valued dearly their shared time on each of their meetings. They knew their schedules would become tighter by now so they always looked for ways and time whenever they had the availability.
Everything was the same as always.
Well, almost everything.
“Guys I’m telling you this ain’t no joke. He read my past in the cards without knowing anything about me!”
“Trish, things like that can’t be read on cards. That guy’s probably as good as GioGio when it comes to reading people.” Tiredness was written on Fugo’s face and he wanted to close the topic for once. Trish has spent the past couple of days talking about the reading she received about her past and course of action recommended for her to take and hadn’t stopped mentioning it since.
“Then how can you explain how spot-on it all was Fugo? It couldn’t be just mere coincidence. I swear there’s something more in all of this!”
Fugo left an exasperated sigh, fingers tapping on the table. “People that claim to be able to read the future probably just say what people want to hear. It’s all recycled speech and nothing true at all. They just want your money and I thought you knew better than to fall for this.”
Trish glared at the taller blond. “That’s what I used to think too before I got to try it by myself and find the answers I did, Fugo.”
“A card can’t tell you what to do with your life. It is pretty much bullshit.”
“I never said I got a reading because I can’t choose for myself,” Trish countered as her fist banged the table to emphasize her point, plates, and books on top of its surface briefly shaking due to the impact.
“This conversation is pointless. You won’t change my beliefs neither will I change yours.”
“But you could at least be a bit more open-minded about it if you tried it yourself. Or are you afraid of what the cards will tell you?”
“I’m not going to waste my money on superstitious witchery stuff.” Fugo returned his attention to his coffee. Things felt a bit tense within their table, both sharing and equal facade of bitterness, not paying attention to the occasional stolen glances at their table. The pinkette took a bite to one of the cherries on her cake.
“What are your thoughts on this, Giorno?”
The blond hadn’t intervened in the debate exchange since Trish had brought up the topic. He lacked knowledge about any of it besides the very basics that pretty much everyone knew to take sides on this. Hence he preferred to remain as a listener and consider both sides carefully.
For him, Fugo’s arguments had the most basis and coherence. Giorno doesn’t believe in religion nor esoteric topics himself neither did any of them had interested him in life. He preferred concrete and tangible subjects. Yet he doesn’t discard the possibility of those things to exist one way or another in our reality.
Religions have many followers in the whole world for a reason, the belief that there’s something else, external, ethereal and superior to us that is always in there even in situations of need, and that as humans we can reach towards and place our faith and hopes on it. Also because they bring answers to the unanswered questions about life, each one in their ways making the majority of people forget about deeper reasoning behind yet feeling safe within those teachings.
From the time Giorno has known Trish, all she mostly cared about had been fashion and branding, making potential connections with people and working hard on practicing and building from scratch the idea of her business. She hasn’t been too invested in religious topics. She believes to a certain extent but doesn’t consider herself a devotee. Most of the things Trish was taught by her mother had been rather too idealistic in some cases to be applied in reality. Her reality, specifically when it came to the family issues, she attempted to avoid.
That’s why all of this caught Giorno’s attention. He had never seen the young woman being this invested in any kind of esoteric topics before, even more, if it dealt with her inner demons and wounds. He knew perfectly that she couldn’t be lying about whatever she got told on her reading. Trish had found some revelations and he could feel her inner conviction raising.
So there must be something.
“I can’t say for sure since I haven’t experienced anything like that before, but now I can’t deny that I’m rather curious due to your statements.”
The older blond remained quiet sipping the remnants of his macchiato. A smile spread on Trish’s lips as she stared at the older blond. “See? You could give me at least the benefit of the doubt.”
Fugo’s wristwatch started beeping. He took a look and stopped the device. “Whatever, I have to go now. See you around.” Both Giorno and Trish waved goodbye to their friend as he took his things and walked out of the café, tension dissipating quickly since it was now only the two of them and Giorno knew Trish wouldn’t mind sharing more information with him than with the presence of Fugo.
“You look content after you got the reading.” The blond commented placing his hands on the table while observing her. “More energetic I would say.”
“Do I? Ahh… because I feel like that.” Trish played with her fingers while humming thoughtfully for a bit. Giorno didn’t pressure her and gave her time to speak. “I don’t know how to explain. You know the feeling you get when you finally find the words that describe what’s happening in your head? Or when after spending a lot of time working on a thousand-piece puzzle you create the full picture and feel good because you finally achieved it? It just feels great.”
Giorno looked at her while processing the newly-given information. “I think I understand what you’re feeling like. Now it makes me wonder how the cards could have told you such information based on their random pulls.”
“I thought the same the first time but as the reading session advanced, I got so much information and now I don’t think anything is just a mere coincidence. Things might happen for a reason.”
“So, what you mean is that everything action is connected, sorta like fate?”
“Yeah… but also not quite. Things are tied but there’s still like a loose string between them that you can move the way you want. You would need to experience it to understand better what I’m talking about.”
The blond hummed pensively, a bit skeptical but still curious about the whole topic. He thought he grasped part of what Trish meant by her previous explanation but still, there were some abstract concepts and ideas he couldn’t catch yet, hence doubted about their validness due to the lack of concretion inherent of their nature. “I’m not so sure about this.”
“I’ll pay for it!” Trish persuaded as she raised her voice a little, making other diners turn their attention briefly towards their shared spot. She held her friend’s hand with resolve. “Please Giorno, trust me on this one. I swear it won’t be a waste of your time. This tarotist is nothing like those they invite over on television channels, this guy knows what he’s doing and he does it well.”
There was a glint of hope in her eyes as she made her request. Giorno knew that Trish wouldn’t ask him for anything unless it would be beneficial in any kind of way.
“Are you trying to convince me to get a reading done so you can get your point across to Fugo?” A chuckle fled from the pinkette’s lips in genuine amusement.
“Oh, I don’t need his approval. Absolutely not. I know what I saw and heard so I will search the answers myself. I’m positive you could get some for yourself too, Giorno. Knowing yourself is something we all should do.”
“I think that I know myself pretty well, Trish.”
“We never fully know ourselves,” she bit back with a pout, folding her arms bitterly after pointing at the blond for his statement.
There was silence between them for a few moments. Giorno thought about Trish’s words as brief memories of his childhood flashed through his mind. Those memories he thought he’d buried away occasionally surfaced at unexpected times made him feel uneasy and this time it wasn’t different. He kept composed while shooing away the feeling.
“It will be fine, you are in good hands,” the woman said reassuringly as she cupped his hands between hers, rubbing circles in his knuckles. The gentleness of her touch brought him back to reality as he exhaled air he didn’t know to be holding. He gave in her comfort.
Neither Trish nor Giorno had great parents and that’s one of the reasons why they grew closer as friends in the past years. Dealing with absent parents had been difficult for both while growing up and their late presence in their lives didn’t make up for it at all. Despite not being too keen on their absence, both of them decided to forge their paths towards their dreams at their expenses. That common determination among them had made possible their bonding and mutual understanding.
Even though their similarities were the common ground for their friendship, their differences are what strengthened their bond. Trish was the yin to his yang, being rather more open to speaking about what troubles her in that matter and Giorno had always been a good listener. She knows well what she has gone through and he can trust her judgment in that aspect.
“Alright, I’ll go,” Giorno gave in at the end. He took a sip of his coffee on purpose to prevent a smile cross his lips and add more fuel to the already excited pinkette. He had indulged her too much for today already and he still wanted to play neutral until having more basis.
“Perfect!” Trish chanted victoriously and wrote down the details of the store for him.
Giorno observed her silently. Whatever Trish found on her reading must have been life-changing in some sort for her and Giorno acknowledged that. Who knows? Maybe this could be a way to face what he had tried to cage away.
After all, she is the one paying for it.
The sun was making its way down to rest for the day.
The chilly winter breeze signaled the upcoming departure of fall. Fall was already on the brink of ending and it was evident in the environment: The regular brownish, orange and red colors were slowly being replaced by the dull whites, grays, and blues, the sky not being an exception to this change.
Winter was hard for a lot of people and Giorno was no exception. The coldness reminded him of his childhood, the lack of warmth he always experienced during this season, trembling violently on his bed wrapped in blankets to fight the cold leaking into his room due to the damaged heater. Despite everything, he has learned to live with it. Now he had friends he could turn to for support to tide through this somber winter more easily. He also had tests to focus on for moving forward on his major.
His dream of becoming a veterinarian and have his own consulting room was the fuel he needed to overcome everything, he thought.
Trish had given him the direction of the shop. After walking for 20 minutes out of his faculty campus, Giorno found himself in a narrow yet large old-fashioned street. Small antique mahogany buildings with windowed-bars and damaged walls were in the two sides of the stretchy-rocky street, shadows covering all of it due to the closeness of both sides of the alley. Opaque yellowish lighting came from inside the apartments making the place look even duller and aged.
It looked like a setting that a movie about paranormal events would use for recording. Giorno couldn’t help but wonder if this kind of location for a store of its type had been a coincidence or done on purpose.
He walked down the street looking from side to side to the few old stores around. None were what he was looking for.
“You need to look for a black symbol that looks like a simplified zipper fly. A circle and a triangle.”, Trish told him when she handed him the address. She even drew the symbol for him on the paper note.
Feeling unsure of where he was going, he whipped out his cellphone to call Trish. While searching for her number, he reached the end of the lane and found himself in front of the main avenue. He looked around as his phone rang and then at his left he spotted the symbol hanging on a little storefront whose door was in the front of the main street.
“Giorno, everything alright?”
“Um, yes… just confirming. The store is in front of the avenue?” He inquired walking closer towards the storefront as he spotted its name in big.
“Yes, on the left side of the alley. Are you already there?”
“Yes, just arrived. Talk to you later.”
“Good luck there! Give Bucciarati my greetings.”
“Sure.”
Giorno ended the call and took his time to scan the place. It was a small store and the name ‘Passione’ was written on it alongside the symbol. Through the glass window, he could see several small shiny statues from Eastern religions and popular items of prosperity such as lucky cats, ceiling mobiles, golden frogs, dragons and more.
He opened the door and the little bell on top of it announced his entrance. Giorno was welcomed with the smell of incense and a strange amicable coziness despite being surrounded by these things that were venerated and respected by many. He couldn’t explain why he got that feeling.
“Coming!” A welcoming mellow voice echoed through the shop. Giorno walked towards the glass counter looking at the things around with a flash sight. Shelves were filled with colorful religious figurines mostly in reds, whites, golds, and blues. Crystals, precious stones and minerals decorated the space alongside beautifully crafted small water fountains on the racks. He spotted some bamboo stems and incense boxes of different colors with other aromatic liquids and herbs.
On the counter, there were some religious jewelry pieces made out of porcelain as well as some crafted with crystals. There were gemstones as well inside of the glass countertop. Over the cash register were six small golden lucky cats side and each had a different expression, one of them had a sad face painted on, and it caught Giorno’s attention. Aren’t these supposed to welcome fortune? The others weren’t any better, painted with menacing looks.
His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps approaching him which made him look back towards the counter.
A man with sun-kissed skin came out from the back room with a flashy smile. He was brunette with short curly hair coming out from the beanie on his head. He wore a slim, blue sweater under a black short-sleeved uniform shirt with a pair of low-waisted red jeans. He also had pitch-black eyes that Giorno found he couldn’t look at for too long. They were like a void and he felt he could be dragged in if he wasn’t careful.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. How may I help you?”
“Um,” Giorno scanned the man in front of him briefly. The brunette didn’t seem like the person Trish had gushed over. “I’m Giorno Giovanna, I have an appointment with Bruno Bucciarati for a reading.”
“Giorno?” The tanned man frowned slightly tapping the corner of his mouth with his finger, thoughtful as he recalled, expression now relaxed. “Yes! Bruno told me you were coming today. He’ll attend to you in a bit. The last client took longer than expected so he’s cleaning up and getting ready for yours.” The brunette offered a friendly smile.
“I don’t mind waiting.”
“Perfect then.”
Giorno shifted around and kept looking around without focusing too much on anything. The brunette’s piercing obsidian gaze made it hard for Giorno to fully relax and take in the shop’s eclectic decor. He tried his best in avoiding his eyes, but to no avail.
“You’re not into this type of stuff, aren’t ya?”
Observant. "I’m not. It is my first time." Giorno looked back to face him with genuine curiosity. The blond was good at reading people so he wondered if this guy happened to be the same as himself. “Is it that obvious?”
“Well, you have that look of composed curiosity with traces of doubt, but I guess that’s okay. Not everyone is easily convinced so their behavior tends to be like that at first until proven otherwise.” The guy rested his chin on his hand comfortably on the counter and gave a friendly tone to him. “So I’m curious over why you decided to come.”
“A friend of mine was quite insistent on me getting a reading. Her name is Trish, maybe you know her.”
The taller man’s eyes widened. “Trish?! Ohhh so you must be that friend of hers!”
Giorno narrowed his eyes. “That friend?”
“Yes, she mentioned that she wanted to drag one of her friends to get a reading because Bruno’s interpretation and guidance had been so helpful to her she wanted her friend to experience it too, but that he was reluctant over the whole thing.”
“That sounds like me,” Giorno hummed in thought, “but, could have been Fugo instead. He’s another friend of ours.”
The man’s eyes widened as a sly smirk formed on his lips. “Actually I happen to know him as well. He tutors my pal with math!… though things barely go smoothly.”
At that moment, Giorno wondered if Mista’s friend was the subject in question in Fugo’s weekly rant of ‘the slowest kid in existence’."
“Oh! How rude of me to not introduce myself yet. I’m Guido Mista, but just Mista is fine.” Another smile and an offered hand crossed the counter. “Nice to meetcha, Giorno.”
Giorno took his hand and bowed slightly with just his head. “It is my pleasure.” Though he had never heard Mista’s name being mentioned by his two friends, he speculated that it might be that one friend they occasionally referred to as ‘idiot’ or ‘paranoid dumbass’." He could confirm his suspicions later on.
Mista cleared his throat and shifted onto a more serious stance. “Here’s my advice. Don’t be afraid of the cards, no matter what they might say, don’t be, just, accept and embrace the knowledge they’ll give ya, okay? They always expose the truth.”
Giorno raised an eyebrow. “I never said I was afraid of them or what the reading will say.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s what many people say the first time they come for a reading because they think this is like the things that they do on TV about fame, fortune and love, and honestly, that’s just plain bullshit.” Giorno could read the disgust on Mista’s expression and tone. “These so-called tarot readers out there? They’re only tainting our reputation… which is why we aren’t taken seriously most of the time. Same with horoscope writers.”
“The few horoscopes I have read about myself had never been right.”
“They aren’t right because it isn’t just about one sign per person! it simply doesn’t work like that. There’s so much more hidden that not everyone knows and that’s why many people don’t believe in the thing in general. They oversimplify it for the sake of reaching a wider amount of people but it doesn’t do them any good.”
Giorno had no clue as to what Mista was talking about but he could tell he knew his stuff. Despite not knowing much about tarot and horoscopes, there was something about the way Mista spoke that made him believe in his words and get even more curious over which depth was that. He learned in history class that humanity had used astrology to predict changes and help them with the harvest seasons but that’s all he knew and that there are constellations named after the zodiac signs. It seemed like there was much more to it and Mista was slowly reeling him in.
But it was still too soon to tell.
The sound of a door opening behind Mista caught both their attention. A man came out of it wearing a loose, low-cut, button-down white blouse with the store’s logo printed all over as a pattern. It was completed with equally form-fitting white pants and leather loafers. Sapphire eyes looked at both of them down, perfectly trimmed bangs of a bowl cut, golden hairpins attached. He smiled and extended his hand to the blond.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Bruno Bucciarati. Trish told me you were coming today.”
“Yes. She really wanted me to come,” he commented, body tensing a little due to his eagerness.
“I hope Mista made your waiting more enjoyable.”
Giorno nodded slightly with a small smile as Bruno opened the door at the counter, signaling him to pass inside. “Let’s not lose more time, you must be busy.”
Giorno followed Bruno behind the counter towards a glass-paneled door inside. Before making his way in, he looked back at the brunette whose gaze never fell from staring at him. “The topic was really interesting and I can’t help but admit you made curiosity grow on me over it. I hope next time you tell me more about it.”
Next time. It wasn’t exactly what Giorno wanted to say but he had to admit the desire of knowledge over the topic was now present in him and talking with Mista had been enjoyable. If he had been asked to rate how good Mista’s customer service was, he would’ve chosen the “best” option. He was welcomed with a grin from Mista.
“Anytime you want.” They shared glances before parting ways. Bruno observed the exchange with fondness written on his face. Giorno then walked towards him and they went through the door. There was a small corridor with three doors, one with the bathroom sign, another had the ‘Only authorized personnel allowed’ so he assumed that might be the storage room. At the end of the hall, there was also a door with a different appearance, bulkier with wood carvings.
Bruno closed the main door behind them and walked towards him. “I’m assuming Mista already spoke with you about how a tarot reading might go.”
He recalled the man’s words. “He told me to not be afraid of the cards.”
“Good. He is right. Nothing you’ll see is a coincidence, but you’ll understand better once we start the session. The chosen cards reflect the soul of every one of us and depending on the current life situation we’re going through, they will change, but all of them are within our core.”
“I have been meaning to ask… How do you know what the cards are saying? That has been on my mind since Trish brought it all up.”
They stopped tracks in front of the door as Bruno searched for a key in his pocket.
“Cards have different symbolism and meanings that might change slightly or radically depending on the deck that is used for the reading,” he explained while unlocking the door’s lock. “We study that symbolism, imagery of the deck and the context of it as well. It is like learning a language.” Bruno finished unlocking the door and returned the key to his pocket. “We’re translators if that makes sense to you.”
“I can see it better now.”
“Good to hear. Now there’s something I want to ask before I welcome you in. When is your birthday?”
Giorno wasn’t expecting that question. Was the birthday date that relevant for a reading? He didn’t know and planned to ask but the blue in Bucciarati’s eyes meant no harm and offered calmness despite the curiosity. “April 16th.”
A smile flashed through Bruno’s mouth. “So you’re an Aries Sun huh. An initiator with leadership skills, bold and passionate when chasing your goals. Eye-catchy and inspiring yet impatient and stubborn at times… Does that ring a bell for you?”
Bruno looked back at the blond, who stared at him wide-eyed in surprise while remaining composed in place. He had got those things pointed out before by people, including his friends, being aware and accepted some of them himself. He knew he liked to begin projects and, admittedly, he liked to take control and pull strings his way. He also was aware that his looks were quite flashy, getting enough confirmation during his whole school life getting girls (and even boys) surround him too regularly for his liking. Sometimes, he would lose his cool if things were too stressful or not going his way - and this was a quality he didn’t really like about himself.
Giorno had thought they were just characteristics of his persona. He never expected them to have any relation with his zodiac sign.
“Yes,” he nodded.
Bruno smiled reassuringly at him, looking content with his answer. “But of course, you’re much more than that.”
The noirette opened the door and Giorno was welcomed into a dark room with lightened aromatic candles perfectly placed side by side on top of small desks around the walls. A large narrow wooden table sat in the middle of the room with a black and white tablecloth on top of it. In the center, there’s a small rectangular package that Giorno guessed it’s the tarot deck. Two chairs were placed on each side of the table. There was subtle instrumental music playing in the room.
The young man walked inside towards the chair, still thinking about what Bucciarati might have meant by the previous affirmation of his zodiac sign. He sat on the chair and looked at the other man still standing on the door.
“Are you comfortable? Should I light the incense on for you?”
“I’m fine like this. Thank you.” Giorno looked around him and felt the darkness in the room engulfing him slowly. It was a weird feeling, he wasn’t afraid but intrigued, it also was a different sensation from what he had experienced on the lonely nights of his infancy.
“Then, we shall begin.”
Bruno closed the door and the darkness engulfed them until gradually, it was all Giorno could see. Just the two of them at that moment. Giorno flashed a thought that left him uneasy but he couldn’t grasp why.
He would find out soon about it, perhaps.