PSEUMINO, VENTO AUREO.

★ ⁺ EMINENT.

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noticeable or worth remarking on.

People remembered that year's fundraiser only because it floated on rumours.

The decorations and food were lackluster. The speeches and displays were uninspired. The winner of the raffle was no one worth speaking about. It was just another fundraiser that paled next to the glimmering ones of the previous years. Everyone had kept an eye on the Sapiena elites, hoping for some of their pop and sparkle to bleed into the event. That was what their energy did. Even the most boring moments sparkled in their presence.

Giorno Giovanna had been regal. He laughed and said charming things. The students he'd sat with wished he stayed longer. But his eyes had been elsewhere, and he had been just this side of perfect.

Trish Una had been lovely. She drew eyes wherever she went, a smile in place for whoever looked. But why had she been so quiet? Had anyone heard any of her cutting remarks that night?

Guido Mista had been obnoxious. He'd downed flute after flute of champagne. He'd gotten drunk quickly, his swagger even more noticeable than usual. But he wasn't usually that careless, was he?

Bruno Bucciarati had been courteous. He'd had nothing but compliments for the student body. He was one of the few who actually seemed like they might enjoy the speeches. But he'd been distant, not quite as attentive as he should have been.

They'd all disappeared just before dinner had been served. Where had they gone? Some students said they'd gone to the infirmary, but why? Some clandestine meeting, perhaps? They hadn't been seen for the rest of the night. On campus the next day, Trish wore a high-collared jacket, while Mista seemed to be hiding a cast. Bruno was pale, sickly-looking.

And Giorno hadn't appeared at all.

Nobody knew that Giorno had spent that night with his Stand, creating flesh and bones. He'd smoothed their wounds, healed their breaks. The pain remained, but that was a small price to pay for his father's safety and his friends' lives.

He hadn't been sure it would work. Gold Experience could make green, leafy plants and things with tiny, beating hearts. Apparently, flesh wasn't far off.

After class, the darlings of Sapiena went to the hospital. Sometimes together, sometimes apart. Trish left shiny things that caught the light. Bruno would open his laptop to play music and Mista would leave sandwich after sandwich.

Well, darlings minus one.

They waited for you to wake up—the mysterious freshman the student body hadn't been sure what to make of. You'd appeared seemingly out of thin air, a shiny, mysterious individual to be noticed. Everyone at Sapiena wanted to be noticed, but you had a talent for it. You'd stayed in the elite's circle for much longer than a week.

Something had happened to you at the fundraiser. Probably some stunt you'd devised yourself.

Giorno had done his best, but things torn never mend completely.

Regardless, the four of them waited.

They waited for this individual who hadn't been a fluke.