Kenma really became a billionaire YouTuber and invested in Hinata because he mustâve known Hinata would be underestimated and overlooked because of his height. âStay interesting, Shoyouâ evolved into âIâll stop if you get boringâ
... get yourself a ride or die like Kozume Kenma yâall
âł after being away for a long time, Giorno finally gets to see his partner.
The city of Naples was as lively as ever â vehicles of all varieties struggling to manoeuvre their way through the roads, while tourists and citizens alike occupied the pavements. Restaurants and other shops were extremely busy as per usual, with customers walking in and out every few seconds. The skies were a faded blue as clouds waltzed their way across the expanse, allowing the sun to filter through sporadically. A breeze would blow by, too.Â
...At least, that was what most of us could conclude. Much like any other bustling city in the world, there were secret organisations, constantly tucking themselves away from the metropolis, hoping the government would not get involved. Gangs and street fights were present, more often than not. It appeared that the isolated alleys between buildings hid more secrets than any of us have estimated.Â
However, to someone like Giorno, it meant home. He was used to it, the way he lived, even before he became Don of the mafia. He remembered how he would use the tricks up his sleeve, robbing tourists of their money as they walked off, unbeknownst to them. It was little things like that which made him who he was today.
As Giorno made his way through the streets, he couldnât help but smile at the thought of them, as theyâd frolic around the bouquets of flowers and hum happy tunes. He pictured them going from table to table, serving customers freshly brewed coffee with the brightest grin on their face. If Giorno hadnât had Naples as his home, he was sure his partner would come in a close second.
His footsteps came to an abrupt stop, just before two tinted glass doors. There was a sign hanging above them that read âWelcomeâ, hinting that it was open for business. Without hesitation at all, Giorno pushed the doors and entered the shop. Almost instantaneously, the familiar scents of chamomile and lavender filled his lungs, along with a few bitter traces of coffee. It was from then and there that Giorno felt his heartstrings loosen up, for he was back where he should have been a year ago.
âGood morning! Would you like a table for-â Their voice chirped as they made their way towards Giorno, only to be cut off as they noticed his blonde locks. Their eyes widened in utter disbelief, finding themselves at an absolute loss for words. Their feet stood rooted to the floor, staying like that for several seconds (fortunately, there were only two other customers present who gave their odd looks). Soon right after, they leapt forward with their arms open, landing straight into the boyâs embrace.Â
They laughed contentedly into his chest. âYouâre back! Youâre back...Iâve missed you, whereâve you been?â They muttered, looking up to meet Giornoâs green eyes. However, he only told them to âtake the conversation insideâ, placing a hand on their back and guiding them to an empty table.Â
Giorno pulled out chairs for both his partner and himself, settling down into a corner of the shop. He wasnât sure where to start either, now that he thought about it. After all, it had been an entire year without seeing them. He eventually figured he should play it safe and decided to settle for the basics. âHow are you?â He began, resting his chin on his palm.
They beamed enthusiastically, adjusting their blue asphalt apron in a neater fashion before answering. âWell, the shopâs doing great. Weâve gotten a lot more people coming in during the afternoon, and the ownerâs been helping me with some of the work, too,â they explained. âWhat about you?â
Giorno gave a half-smile, unable to ignore the subtle twinkle in their eyes. âItâs good to know you are okay. Iâm doing just fine myself, too. Donât worry about me,â he simply responded, refusing to elaborate on whatever he truly felt at that moment.
However, upon hearing so, they only frowned. âGiorno, you know thatâs practically impossible. Youâve been gone for an entire year and youâve yet to tell me why, of course Iâd be worried about you.â
The boyâs heart sank to his stomach and he immediately reached out to grab their slender hands, taking them in his and planting soft kisses on both of them. âIâm sorry, amore. Iâve simply been occupied with my work, thatâs all. Itâs nothing, really,â Giorno assured softly, and it seemed to convince his partner enough. They let out a long and almost tired-sounding sigh, slipping their hands out.Â
âI hope you know how much I love you. It really isnât the same without you around,â they mumbled softly, their eyes darting to the concrete floor. It made Giorno feel lamentable for leaving and coming back to the shop out of the blue. He wanted to apologise over and over again, and swear that heâd stay by their side forever from then on. In fact, there were many things Giorno wanted to promise that heâd do, but all thoughts eluded his mind when he noticed that his partner looked extremely pale all of a sudden.Â
He cupped their face with his warm palms, forcing them to look at him. He began to examine their ghostly white complexion, and he couldâve sworn he felt a sharp tug at his heart. â_____, what happened to you? Are you alright? Do you need me to heal you?â He asked, one question after another. Unfortunately, those questions were left unanswered with a simple wave of dismissal from his partner. Giorno merely brushed that off, and was insistent on using Gold Experience to at least bring some life back into their body.Â
Though, it seemed that before he could even place his hands on them, black shadows from his peripheral vision have begun to close in, engulfing his perspective in a matter of seconds. He tried calling for their name, but nothing was received. Giorno started blinking rapidly, hoping that whatever he was seeing was just his mind messing with him.
However, when he opened his eyes for the last time, Giorno found himself in his bedroom with cold sweat trickling down his temples. He was struggling to breathe and his duvet was spread all over the floor, evidently thrown around. The poor boy frantically scanned the room in search of his partner, but all he could find were the velvet curtains and dappled shadows cast on the carpets by dim sunlight. Giorno then turned to glance at the other side of his bed, and finally realised.
No one was there.
Tears started to well up. The numbness in his fingers began to travel up his arm. Everything around him morphed into a blurry mess.
i see a lot of the same (sometimes unhelpful) tips being thrown around, so hereâs my two cents:
1. write shopping lists/to do lists in your target language - often you donât learn this vocab but itâs conversational & v useful! also writing yourself notes (lil pep talks on the bathroom mirror, for example) can work.
2. buy a small whiteboard and practice verb conjugation (esp. romantic languages) or script writingÂ
3. talk to pets in target language if possible!
4. look for quotes in your target language - often the turns of phrase are more colloquial, and is a good opportunity to see how things are translated from your native languageÂ
5. find a fairly easy news headline (in target lang) and try to re-write it w/ vocab you already have. youâll quickly find gaps - this is a good thing! (if youâre feeling extra spicy, try writing a small subheading or description about the article).
6. create an imaginary friend who you speak with on the shower, or on the train, doing the laundry etc. talk w/ them in your target lang (in your head, obvs) about your day, future plans, etc etc.
~for more advanced learners~
7. when youâre more advanced, and have some grasp of past/future tenses, buy a childrenâs/tweenâs/YA book that youâve already read. highlight and annotate the shit out of it. youâll know the general gist already, which makes context clues easier to find.
8. change wikipedia settings into target language - same goes for any social media site. this can be a mega challenge, but is so good for vocab, plus youâre more likely to remember the info since you worked so hard for it.
9. write a review for a book/film/record/whatever youâve most recently consumed. maybe start a diary of them, or just have an ongoing word doc.
10. find a bilingual edition of poetry/literature if possible. you might find you can spot translation differences, but youâre sure to find some new vocab.
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