Word Count: 3350

You looked on with a smile as Mr. Joestar and Ms. Holly argued about her name. The light heartedness and silliness of the situation making you feel at ease and calm.

The men had explained to you what was going on. Who Dio was, how he sent Kakyoin to kill Jotaro and everything else. In return, you told them about your Stand, White Knight, and how you had it ever since you were four years old, comparing it to Jotaro and Mr. Joestar who only developed it recently.

All in all, while you were still nervous to be around these people – preferring to silently sit in the corner – you felt a connection with all of them. Perhaps because you were all Stand users or perhaps because you just liked them. Either way, you were glad your teacher forced you to come here.

Jotaro suddenly placed his hand on your shoulder while the father and daughter duo continued to bicker, motioning his head for you to follow and you got up and walked out of the room after him.

Unsure of why he took you aside, you steeled yourself for the worst as he walked into the garden with you in tow. Far enough to be out of earshot from the others but in such a position that the room and those inside were still visible.

Jotaro stayed quiet for a second, looking straight ahead and since he didn't seem to make any indication to start what he brought you out here for, you stepped up next to him, nervously clenching your fists. "What's up?"

Your words seemed to snap him out of his thoughts as he blinked a few times before glancing down at you real quick and back up. "Have you healed alright?"

The question caught you off guard. "I- Wh- Well, y-yes." He grunted slightly, almost sounding like a 'good' but that could have been your imagination talking. "Have you?" You asked the question back and he looked down at you.

"I wasn't hurt."

You smiled slightly to yourself, looking at him from the corner of your eyes. "I think we both know that is bullshit, Kujo. You took most of the fall for me. That must have left you with something."

"Yare yare, nothing substantial, woman. And I thought I told you to call me Jotaro."

You froze for a bit, not expecting something so casual from him. "I thought you wouldn't want that anymore..."

"Why?" He turned to face you, his hands in his pockets.

"Because I dragged you into my problems and almost had you hit by a car?" You were uncomfortably fidgeting with your fingers, looking at the ground.

"I don't mind it, Y/N. I saved you, you saved me, we're even. And stop sulking, it's fucking annoying."

You immediately obeyed and shot up straight as a board as an instinctual reaction, before realizing what you were doing and slouching a bit more. Hitting Jotaro on his arm playfully, you just chuckled. "You really know how to tactfully and delicately bring people out of their shell, huh?"

Jotaro scoffed and covered his face with his hat while your eyes landed on the watch on your wrist. Upon seeing the time, your eyes widened and you jumped into a frantic stance.

"OH CRAP I'M GONNA BE LATE!"

Jotaro started a little at your sudden outburst, looking at you from under his hat as you started looking back and forth at the speed of sound before locking your eyes with your bag, all the way across the yard in the room the others were in.

You started running towards it before stopping and turning to face Jotaro. "Ah, I have to go to my shift. See you tomorrow at school?!" He nodded and you beamed a smile at him before turning around again and sprinting to your bag.

"Hi everyone, I gotta go. Thank you for having me. Speedy recovery, Kakyoin. Bye!" You rattled out before grabbing your bag and booking it out of there, leaving everyone in a stunned shock, not even having enough time to say something back.

"Yare yare daze." Jotaro shook his head as he watched you run across the estate towards the gate, walking back to the tea room himself.

- - - -

"You seem smiley-er than normal." Your mom stated as she sipped her tea, a small sly smile on her face.

Looking up from your cutting of the vegetables, you gave her a confused look. "What?"

"I haven't seen you smile this much in so long. What happened today to get you like this?"

"O-Oh. Well, I'm just happy to be working at the aquarium again." You said as you returned to chopping. You could feel your mother's gaze on you however so as you slid the vegetables into the cooking pot, you muttered. "And I met some nice new people today."

Looking at her from the corner of your eye, only half turned to face her, you saw your mother put her hand on her heart in pretend shock. "New people made you smile? Where's Y/N and what did you do with her?"

Giving an exaggerated eye roll, you explicitly turned your back to your mom, pretending to be very hard at work with cooking and ignore her. After a second though, you couldn't help but giggle and your mom chuckled along, proud of her little performance.

Things really were looking up.

- - - -

Sitting in class, you couldn't help but have the nagging feeling as if something was wrong. The weather outside was beautiful, especially for this time of year; the sun shining with only a few fluffy white clouds in the sky. Yet there was a dark overcast. Not something you could visibly see, but a feeling. A feeling of imminent dread and despair. It got under your skin and turned you into a nervous wreck, the chatter of the students that you'd normally tune out suddenly turning into a deafening static noise. It was all you could hear, drowning out all other noises and making you want to claw at your head, just as a way to get rid of the sound.

Looking behind you, you noticed Jotaro's empty seat and you stared at the desk. He said he'd be here yesterday and even though you knew he was prone to skipping classes, when you asked if he'd come to school, something in you assured you that he meant it when he confirmed he would. So the fact that he wasn't here meant bad news.

Someone in class laughed loudly and you shoved your hands over your ears, trying in vain to block out the noise. You could feel your own heartbeat in your ears as you sat there, the murmuring of the class still as loud as ever and with a last heaving breath, you abruptly shot up from your seat.

"Y/N?" The teacher asked but you just ignored her as you grabbed your bag from the floor and stormed past, exiting the classroom while several students looked on in confusion. You could hear your teacher shout after you to come back but as soon as you got halfway through the hall, you broke out into a jog, gradually starting to run and leaving it all behind.

As you ran across the school grounds and out the gates, there was only one place on your mind that you thought of going. Jotaro Kujo's house.

- - - -

The closer you got to the Kujo household, the worse the feeling got. A knot formed in your stomach, tightening with every step until you finally reached the large gates. Opening them and stepping inside, you looked around to see Avdol speed-walking across the outside deck, slowing down before getting to a room and walking inside.

You started walking closer and saw Kakyoin walk to the doorway as well, starting to say something to those inside, though you were too far away to hear what he had to say.

At this point, your anxiety level was spiking and you didn't care anymore about customs, running through the garden and hopping over plants to go in a straight line toward the room.

"It would seem Dio wishes to remain in Egypt." You heard the faint but distinct voice of Avdol as you got closer. Kakyoin walked inside just as you reached the wooden deck, climbing up it as you heard him speak.

"When do we leave? I'll go with you."

"With us? Why?" Jotaro spoke up, confirming your suspicions that he was indeed still here at home.

"I can't say I know the answer to that myself. Let's just say you've opened my eyes. That's all."

That was the only thing Kakyoin was able to say before you appeared in the doorway, your heart breaking as you saw the inside of the room.

Mr. Joestar and Avdol were at a low table, books and maps scattered open in front of them while Kakyoin and Jotaro stood to the side of it. On the left however, in another room, lay Holly. She was pale and panting, a feverish sweat evident on her face as she lay bundled up under the blankets.

"Y/N. Why are you here?" Jotaro was the first to notice your presence, alerting the others as he addressed you.

You looked up from Holly, to Jotaro. While he expected shock, or worry – maybe even tears from a girl like you – upon seeing the state of his mother, all he got as he looked into your eyes was a sad understanding.

"Something felt wrong..." It came out closer to a murmur and you looked back at Holly. "What happened?"

"She has developed a Stand but it is killing her. Dio is the reason and we're going to Egypt to kill him and save Ms. Holly's life." Avdol explained and you looked back up at Jotaro, your eyes hardening.

"No." Jotaro glared back at you as he said that, an authority clear in his voice as he read your thoughts, knowing what you were going to say next.

"I'm coming along."

"What don't you understand about 'no'?!" Jotaro dangerously took a step closer, raising his voice slightly. You stood your ground however, looking up at him with the same determined look and not backing down, despite the intimidating stature of the boy and the hammering of your heart in your chest.

"I understand it perfectly, I just decide not to acknowledge it."

"This is none of your business, just leave, bitch!" Jotaro shouted and you flinched, wanting to pull back on instinct as your blood rushed through your veins, your entire body begging you to run away.

"J-Jotaro..." Mr. Joestar tried to shush the teen but before either of them could continue, you straightened your back, looking up at Jotaro again.

He was glaring at you as if you were the scum of the earth but you just looked into his eyes with a calm and determined look again. Your heart was still beating against your ribcage in a blind panic but you didn't care. For once in your life, you were going to stand up for yourself and not back down.

"I know what it's like to have your mother be sick." You started. Your voice, while sounding decisive and hard, had a deep rooted sadness in it. All eyes were on you at this point but you were solely focused on Jotaro. "Having someone you care about so much lie in bed in agony for hours, days, weeks. All the while, you'll just sit off to the side, feeling hopeless, useless, defenseless? Unable to help them? Not knowing whether they'll live or die? I know what that feels like.

"There was nothing I could do for my mother. She fought a battle on her own and I couldn't do a single thing to help her win it. So, hearing that there is a chance for you? A way for you to help your mother beat this sickness so that she won't have to fight this battle on her own? I'll be damned if I don't do everything in my power to help so that you won't have to go through the same thing I did! I'm coming, whether you like it or not!"

It was quiet in the room for a bit. Holly's soft panting being the only audible thing as everyone stared at you. Your eyes were still locked on Jotaro's, an emotion now swimming in his eyes that you couldn't exactly determine as you stayed locked in that position a little bit longer.

The delinquent suddenly lifted his right hand and before you knew it, he had placed it on the top of your head, pushing it down and keeping it there. The action caused your little staring contest to forcefully come to an end as you heard him sigh an annoyed sigh.

Realizing this was him giving in, you couldn't help but breathe out in relief before quickly trying to remove his hand from your head so that you could stand up straight again. It took a few seconds of struggling, Jotaro not budging in the slightest and you heard the others in the room chuckle slightly as you finally wormed your way out.

"Well. Looks like we've got ourselves another ally." Mr. Joestar spoke up. A small smile was on his face as he looked at you and you sent him a thankful smile back.

He got up from his spot at the table and walked over to his daughter, crouching down beside her.

"Holly... we'll save you. Just rest." He tenderly placed his hand on her cheek as he looked at her, a soft smile on his face. It lasted for a second before he leaned up and looked back at all of you with a serious expression. "Time's running out! It's time to go!"

- - - -

Mr. Joestar said he was going to call the Speedwagon Foundation, having them arrive as soon as possible. While he was going to do that, you let everyone know you were going home real quick to pack and let your mother know you were going away for a while.

As you walked, you thought of what to say. How were you going to explain this? You couldn't just crash in with the full truth since Stands aren't really your run of the mill. 'Hey mom, remember that imaginary friend I had as a kid? Well it is real and I met other people who have them and we're going to Egypt to kill a vampire with superpowers.' Yeah no, that wasn't gonna cut it. Going over all options in your mind, you sighed. You knew that this would be dangerous. With what Mr. Joestar told you about Dio, you knew he was a powerful enemy who was not to be underestimated. But still, you held no hesitation to go along. With your Stand, you had the ability and opportunity to protect others and you'd be damned if you let someone get hurt when you could've protected them.

You were so lost in thought that you didn't even realize you had already arrived at your house. And so now you stood in front of your door, a nervousness welling inside you. Even more so than when you confronted Jotaro earlier.

Taking a deep breath, you took your key out of your pocket and went inside. "Mom?" You softly called out and heard a rattle in the kitchen before your mom popped her head out of the doorframe.

"Y/N? What are you doing home so early?"

"U-Um.... Can we... talk?"

Immediately noticing your uncomfortable posture, she nodded and walked into the living room while drying off her hands, sitting down and motioning for you to sit opposite of her. You did just that but kept your eyes pointed at your feet, rubbing your arms up and down, trying to get some sort of comfort out of the action.

"What's wrong?" She prompted when you didn't seem to start the conversation.

Upon hearing her speak, you looked up to look at her, although you looked anywhere but her eyes, having had too much of staring into other people's eyes for one day already thanks to Jotaro.

"I'm..." You started, before taking a deep breath and just sucking it up. "I'm going on a trip."

"A trip? What do you mean?" Your mother's voice was gentle, seeing how much trouble you had with this, though her confusion was evident.

"You're feeling better right? That you can go without me for a little while?"

"I do but, Y/N, what is this about?" Your mother leaned forward to try and catch your gaze and you finally looked at her.

"A friend of mine... His mom is now sick. And he's going on a trip to Egypt to cure her. I'm going with him."

Your mom leaned back a bit in shocked confusion. "I'm not sure I follow. Egypt? Why would you have to go along?"

"Mom, please. It's hard to explain but the cure is in Egypt. And I have a chance to help him. I want to help him. Thanks to what happened to you, I just want to do all I can to make sure no one else goes through the same thing we did."

It was quiet for a moment and you had turned your gaze to the floor again. You heard your mom let out a breath as she moved around on the couch a bit. "Okay... How long will you be gone?" She asked hesitantly and the anxiety that had been spiking in your chest settled a tiny bit.

"I don't know for sure. We have fifty days to find the cure, but with some luck, we'll be back before you know it. Since we're taking a plane there, I guess it'll be two days at best and..." You didn't finish as your mind dragged you to the possibility of you actually never returning.

"Fifty days at worst?" Your mother finished for you and you sent her a half-hearted smile. You couldn't tell her that you might not return. She had no idea that you were going to Egypt to fight and kill a man and it hurt too much to have to say the possibility of you dying in that fight out loud to your recently recovered mother.

"...Yeah." Not knowing what else to do, you just stood up. "I'll just quickly go pack now, we have to leave as soon as possible."

"Y/N, wait." Your mom stood up along with you. "I don't understand any of this or why it is so important. But you have a look that's telling me I can't stop you, no matter what I try." She let out a short but soft chuckle before turning more serious. "Just one thing. At least tell me who you are doing this for."

"Jotaro Kujo. He's the one who helped me in the car crash." You smiled a small smile, more genuine this time. "His mother, Holly Kujo, is sick and we're going to save her."

- - - -

With your small backpack slung over your shoulder, you approached the Kujo household to see all four men stand in front while cars and people were rushing in and out.

After the talk with your mother, you had called your job and taken the next month or so off, not knowing how long you'd be gone. Your boss was not happy but you just hung up on him before he could scold you, not emotionally prepared for that in the moment. Apart from packing, the last thing you did was change out of your school uniform and into a set of regular clothing. Mainly: pants, a tank-top and a jacket – knowing you were going to a hot country.

Jotaro was the first to notice you approaching and you sped up to join the small group. Once you were within earshot, Mr. Joestar spoke up.

"All right, we're off. Let's hit the road!"

31-03-2021