Word Count: 2980

"I think I'm gonna fall asleep like this." You softly groaned as you let your entire body fall, swaying with Jotaro's movements now that you were no longer pushing yourself up off of his back.

"Well don't. I don't want you drooling on my jacket." Was the only response you got back and you placed your hands on his back again, pushing yourself up so you could look over your shoulder at the man.

"Oi, that's mean!" You pouted, not getting a response as Jotaro just continued walking.

Just letting yourself flop like a dead body again, you quietly sighed out. Despite your expectations, it was surprisingly comfortable to be stored on Jotaro's shoulder like this. Sure your stomach was slightly hurting due to the fact that you were kind of folded double, but the shoulder itself was remarkably comfy. With his big ass muscles, you thought it would be one big landscape of sharp peaks and valleys, but it wasn't. Kinda made you wonder how comfortable the rest of him was. Wait – no!

Shaking your head, you tried to get rid of that disturbing thought. Why of all things, would that suddenly flash through your mind? You tried your hardest to come up with an answer, only to end up empty handed. So instead, you just opted to shut your brain off for now. It seemed like the best decision. Ooga booga caveman brain no think, just sleep.

That was, until you felt a sharp stinging sensation on your ass. As if someone had just slapped you.

Gasping in shock, you immediately shot up, looking back over your shoulder to Jotaro only to see his head slightly turned to look back, eyes wide with surprise before turning angry as you heard snickering from your other side. You turned your head to the other side but before you could get a proper look and comprehend what was going on, Jotaro had turned around and shouted. "Hey, asshole!"

Feeling yourself be put down, you wobbled a bit from suddenly having to carry your own weight again with your jelly legs as you felt Jotaro release you and move away, taking large strides over to a guy who held a smug look on his face.

Despite the intimidating presence of the delinquent, the guy didn't budge and just looked up at him, standing only a few centimeters shorter and just casually waiting as he was approached.

"Can I help you?" He smirked.

You had turned around, taking in what was happening as the pieces clicked. The sneer seemed to set something off in Jotaro though, as he grabbed the guy by his shirt and lifted him up, an angry blaze in his eyes as he slammed him into the tree that was next to him.

"Apologize to her." His tone was deep and threatening, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him.

"Why should I?" The dude grinned. It was clear that this man was looking for a fight and to your dismay, it was obvious that Jotaro had no problem in following through with that as he re-slammed the guy into the tree, much harsher this time.

"Apologise." He reinstated.

You just watched the scene with wide eyes. Anne was right next to you, holding your hand and glaring at the man with just as much intensity as Jotaro, albeit a lot less threatening. Things had escalated so quickly and you didn't know what to do. The biggest question racing through your mind though; was he a Stand user?

"Well?"

While the man had previously only held an aura of snobbery and smugness, the tone in Jotaro's voice paired with his sudden loss of oxygen as Jotaro had tightened his grip seemed to finally make him waver a bit. He glanced between you and the teen in front of him, swallowing slightly.

Seeing this, you relaxed a bit. If he were a Stand user, surely he wouldn't let himself get cornered like this without attacking with said Stand. No, this was most likely just a regular person who just also happened to be a grade-A douchebag.

"Jotaro, let's just go. There's no need." You took a single step forward, hoping to convince him. Some people walking past had stopped to see what was happening and you just wanted to get out of the spotlight as soon as possible and be on your way.

Jotaro glanced at you from the corner of his eyes, an unreadable look in them as you just silently pleaded with him, looking directly into his eyes. The man took this as a moment of opportunity however, pulling back his fist and swinging it at Jotaro.

With an unbelievably fast motion, Jotaro caught the fist with his own, squeezing hard to partially crush the guy's hand. He yelped in pain, trying to wriggle his fist from the delinquent's hand before all his fingers could be crushed but it was futile.

Taking a step back, Jotaro released the guy, dropping him on the ground while looking down with the same vicious glare, getting nothing but a defiant angry look back.

With a fast motion, the man jumped up and tried to hit Jotaro. The teen was quicker though and simply stepped back, making the fist fly through the air where his face had previously been. The man kept trying to hit but Jotaro was faster each time, blocking or simply dodging.

Trying once again, the man aimed right for Jotaro's jaw but this time, instead of dodging, he grasped the guy's fist again. With a quick move he forced the arm to the side, twisting it into a painful position before slugging the guy on the jaw – hard. Releasing the arm simultaneously, it made the man stumble back a bit, only to be met with more punches to the face.

You just looked at the scene, having really no other options. Stopping Jotaro would be a death wish as he pummeled on the guy. You took note however, on how he wasn't using Star Platinum.

No, he was using his own fists to beat this guy up.

Finally ceasing the barrage of punches, the man stumbled as he tried to stay upright, an angry look on his face as he looked at the delinquent through the one eye he was still able to keep open. His whole face and chin looked like a war zone; broken nose, bruises everywhere, blood seeping from his jaw – it looked awful.

And if it wasn't enough, the small moment of respite ended when out of nowhere, Jotaro raised his right fist and slammed it right into the man's face, sending him flying off to the side.

You cringed as you watched the punch hit its mark. Pretty sure that guy either wouldn't get up again for a while, or would need to pay some serious medical bill to get back to his regular life.

"What's going on here?" A police officer jogged over and you could see Jotaro scowl in annoyance, readjusting his hat and putting his bloody knuckles into his pockets.

"None of your business." He spat and you quickly walked over, hoping to diffuse if it was necessary. The policeman held a disturbed look as he looked between the beat up guy on the ground and the tall delinquent, his hand hovering over his weapon which Jotaro immediately caught from the corner of his eye, making him glare down at the man.

"It was self-defense, officer." You chipped in as you skidded to a halt next to the two, making the policeman notice you for the first time. He gave you a questioning look, probably wondering if you belonged with the terrifying teen or not.

"It's true! That guy attacked first!" Anne then followed up loudly, pointing to the man who was now sluggishly rolling around on the floor, cradling his face.

The two testimonies seemed to sway the officer and he eyed Jotaro one last time before removing his hand from his weapon and just nodding, waving you three away as he walked over to the man on the floor.

"Let's scram before he can press charges." You whispered only for Jotaro to hear but he just seemed to ignore you, walking past with a scowl on his face as he started moving again as if nothing happened.

You stared at his back as he walked, not moving for a second. You had a feeling he was absolutely pissed at you and that unwillingly brought up some bad memories, your heart starting to anxiously beat in your chest.

Anne looked between you and him before leaving your side to catch up with Jotaro, turning back to motion you to follow before running straight again, reaching his side.

Taking in a deep yet shaky breath, you started following the two, keeping your distance.

Maybe giving him some peace and quiet would help. You kind of wished Anne would leave him be too but he didn't seem too bothered by her so you just trailed behind on your own.

Your legs were still a bit shaky from exhaustion but you just ignored it, looking at the ground and only glancing up every so often to see if you were still following. You noted you were walking back to the cable car station because, duh, of course you would. Jotaro never got the opportunity to buy those train tickets.

The tall teen was going a bit too fast for you but not once did he stop nor did you see him look back at you to see if you were still there; making it so you had to break into a jog every now and then to catch up – though you still kept your distance. You figured he really didn't want any annoying teenage girls around him so as you rounded the cable car station and reached the stairs that would lead up, you decided to go back to the hotel. That way, they wouldn't have to call Mr. Joestar anymore either.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

The sudden question made you immediately stop walking, your shoulders up to your ears. Turning around with an unsure look, you nearly flinched as you met Jotaro's hard stare. "I-I thought I'd stop bothering you and go back to the hotel..."

Jotaro narrowed his eyes, silently looking at you for a second before speaking. "You leave now and I will leave you behind at the train station tomorrow."

The sudden harsh statement shocked you, but then your eyes softened slightly and the faintest of smiles appeared on your face. You nodded nearly unnoticeably – but Jotaro noticed.

He didn't hate you after all and just realizing that made a relief wash over you.

Jotaro waited until you had walked up to him and Anne again before turning around and walking up the stairs, hearing your footsteps right behind, indicating you were indeed following. Sending a discreet look back however showed that you were lost in your own world.

Sighing, he wrenched his arm from Anne's grip. "Squirt, go phone the Old man. We'll catch up."

Anne looked up at him, a little confused but then nodded, running a little faster up the stairs and weaving between people to get to the top quicker – to the phone she had used earlier.

You noticed Jotaro slow down so you could catch up and so you did, walking up beside him though an anxious pit grew in your stomach.

"What's on your mind now? Why the hell are you acting like a depressed duck; just following me around?" His tone was almost exasperated as he addressed you and you looked up at him for a second, quickly looking forward again when you saw he was already staring down at you.

"My legs are just still tired so I'm a bit slow." You smiled a bit, refusing to look up at him, not able to take his intense gaze at the moment.

"Lie again and I'll make you regret it. Stop dancing around the bush and just spit it out, woman." He gripped your upper arm, forcing you to stop and partially turn to him to make his point clear.

You both were now clogging up the stairs and people were trying to go around, only to be unable to skirt past or be stopped by a glare from the tall delinquent. You wanted to say something about how you two were holding everyone up but immediately decided against it, instead moving to stand a few stairs up in front of Jotaro so that people could pass. Unfortunately, this caused you to be on the same eye height as him, making it harder to avoid his gaze.

"You seemed annoyed because of that man and I didn't want to add to that." You looked to the side, looking over at the view of the city that you could see from being about halfway up the stairs.

"I was pissed because of what that asshole did, so why the fuck are you so down?"

"Jotaro, you didn't have to do that." You softly said, referring to how he beat the guy senseless. You just always wanted to stay on the down-low, refrain from causing scenes and stay out of people's ways. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Shut up!" He snapped back immediately and you flinched a little at his tone. "Stop being so meek and timid, letting people walk all over you!"

"I just don't want innocent people being hurt!"

"That guy wasn't innocent and you know it." He glared at you for a second before he closed his eyes and sighed. "This is still about those sailors?" Your eyes widened as your heart clenched. Darting your eyes up to briefly meet his, it was all the proof he needed to know it was indeed about that. "With a situation such as this, innocent people are going to get hurt. You can break your back to try and change things but you will never be able to save everyone. If you had been with those sailors in the room when they died, what do you think would have happened?"

"I could have – should have – helped them, saved their lives!" You shot back almost immediately, showing how close to the surface these thoughts sat for you, but Jotaro was quick to shoot your retort down.

"Wrong. What makes you think that stupid ape wouldn't have bound you down like it did me and you in that hallway? The only difference would have been that you would have watched those men die instead of stumbling upon their corpses. And then you would have either died yourself or have something perverted done to you." He harshly poked you on your collarbone, driving his point further home and nearly making you stumble. "You need to stop worrying about others and instead start protecting yourself, dumbass. And stop beating yourself up about something that was beyond you."

The next few seconds were completely silent. If you hadn't been outside you could have heard a pin drop. But as the weight and reality of his words settled in, you couldn't help the calm that washed over you. Yes, his words were harsh, straight-to-the-point, and didn't pull any punches, but it was the truth, and the exact truth you needed to hear. "I... guess you're right." Your words were soft as you spoke them with your eyes still locked on your feet, yet Jotaro could see the tension leave your shoulders. There was a small pause before you slowly swiveled your head up to meet his gaze. "Thanks." There was a small yet sad smile on your face. But at least it was genuine. "Although I can't promise I will follow up on that last part."

Jotaro had just turned to walk around you and start climbing the stairs again but stopped before he could, glancing back at you. "What?"

"I will protect you and the others before myself." You promised not only him, but yourself as well.

There was a disbelieving look in his eyes, turned into a glare as if saying 'Everything I just fucking said, do I have to beat it into you before you do what I say?' and you quickly held your hands up in surrender. "Don't take me the wrong way! It's just that, if I only protect myself and you all get taken out, how in the hell am I supposed to beat the Stand users?" Jotaro narrowed his eyes at you as you continued. "Dress up and do the Hula in hopes they will find it amusing enough to let me live?" He snorted at that. "No! My Stand is supportive, you guys are the attackers. Without you all I wouldn't get very far." You held a small honest smile on your face, conveying your emotions to him as he looked into your eyes before he averted them, looking up the stairs.

"Fine. Now stop pissing me off by being so sad and just help me buy these damn tickets."

"Aye, aye, sir." You mock army-saluted, earning an irritated huff from the boy before he playfully pushed your head down and walked past you, breaking you from your pose and causing you to smile a little to yourself.

What happened to those sailors was awful but Jotaro was right. Some things are beyond your ability and there is no use in wallowing in what you couldn't do. You just had to move on and focus on what you could do, and then fucking kill it while doing it. So that is what you told yourself you'd do.

Now all you needed was a place where you could rest your poor stick legs and maybe a good 48 hour nap and you'd be in tip-top shape again.

26-05-2021