Apparition (Vento Aureo x Reader)

Sure You Have The Horse In The Back But Do You Have Jesus At The Wheel

"I don't understand. Your dad? Like the one who tried to kill you every year or something?" (Y/N), the one who stood boldly in the face of death itself, the one who would sooner shank herself than allow those precious to her to get a goddamn papercut, was afraid. Petrified, even, and they weren't sure how to feel. "(Y/N), he won't even touch you, okay? We promise. He can't hurt you with us around."

"No, I don't care about getting hurt. He does worse than that." She's mentioned it briefly to them in passing before, the fact that he erases her existence, but they probably didn't understand the implications of it all. "I don't know, but I think he has a stand. I've never seen it, but I swear to you he has one, some sick ability to erase minds or something. I myself have even gone through it. When he threw me onto the street, I could see it, a bright flash of light, like lightning that scrambled my brain. Like I couldn't remember what I even was. I wasn't a human. I wasn't even an animal, I was simply mindless. Couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't understand, I can't even describe it now. Maybe before Eve bit the apple, devoid of good and evil and emotion and everything that made a person truly human."

"A stand that erases memory?" Trish's hand ghosted over her lips in thought. She couldn't imagine such a thing. It's terrifying, the idea of forgetting. Something precious could be so easily disregarded, as if it never existed. "Like, it inflicts dementia?"

"Like it scrambles everything. You know how magnets can - in theory - corrupt data on a hard drive? It's because the platters that data is stored on are partially magnetic, so taking a powerful magnet can corrupt the data inside. It's like that. I wouldn't say it's erased because... well, I still remember, I guess. I don't know what the hell the catalyst was, though." She choked out a breathless laugh, digging through her memories of that day. Was it the schoolwork or the dead mom? Well, it couldn't be the dead mom, since she's most definitely talked to those who forgot her, and they didn't remember shit about her. But why the schoolwork? It couldn't just be that. "It doesn't matter. Once you're gone, if they don't want to remember, they just won't."

"And... you think he's after you now?" Mista's brain hurt. What did all of this mean? Well, he knew what it meant. He understood all too well. She's being targeted, and he isn't sure a bullet could stop whatever this was. "But we still remember you!"

"It's not that day yet, but it's coming soon." She flipped another page, ignoring the hand that settled on her shoulder. Emanating a comforting warmth, Bruno's touch did little to soothe her. With a light squeeze, he didn't want to let go. She's gone through far too much, and he would smile at her reassuringly, but she didn't want to look at them lest they see the unsheathed tears that threatened to slip.

"He isn't going to find you. How would he? There's no way to track you down, (Y/N). Really. You said it yourself, you could rob a bank and no one would even know it was you." Abbacchio crouched down, brushing a lock of her hair away to try to see her face, but all he saw was the droplets that blotted the ink on the book she stared at. "We'll protect you." It's the least they could do.

"I doubt Golden Wind Requiem couldn't deal with him, so don't cry. We won't leave you, (Y/N)." Giorno knew it better than anyone else. He's seen her be forgotten before, exactly two years prior. The two that worked at the restaurant, the ones that seemed to be close to her, yet acted as if they've never met the second time. And what about all of them? They didn't forget! "I don't think it even affects those with Stands. The ones who managed this book must have switched when they started to gain more power, or they got their stand during that time."

"Yea! And you live with us, so how the heck are we supposed to forget you?" Narancia grinned, tackling her with a strong hug, his arm wrapping around her neck to playfully pull a chokehold. "Don't worry, I don't think anything is going to happen!"

A quiet sob erupted from her, and the ravenette flinched. Fugo quickly bent down to check on her, eyes widening when he saw the tears roll down her cheeks in fat droplets. "Narancia! You made her cry! Don't choke her, goddammit!"

"No! It's okay!" (Y/N) half wheezed, trying desperately to stop the fountain that continued to pour. She laughed to herself, drawing in shaky breaths in hopes to calm down, although it didn't work too well. "It's fine. I'm just.... I'm just really happy right now, really."

Trish dove into her arms, pulling her into a tight hug. She trusted (Y/N) with her life. That woman who was always there for her, the one who supported her when she needed it, of course she would do the same, to her precious, precious friend.

"It's okay, cry as much as you need. We'll be here to dry your tears, no matter what." Bruno wiped her cheeks with his thumb, his heart melting at the way she leaned into his touch, finally receptive to all of them, finally open, finally free.

Yet she still wouldn't look at them.

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