Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Explosions and Cheese
"AGH! Move, Polnareff!" Once again, the cocky Frenchman had ignored your strategy and charged into the fray carelessly, forcing you to shift the detonation of your stand's explosion at the last second.
BLAM!!!
A blast resounded mere feet from Silver Chariot, causing Polnareff to cry out in pain from the heat and force of impact. He was sent toppling backwards and the shadowy creature let out a banshee-like screech as it was engulfed in the flames. The misty penumbra turned tangible, its structural integrity beginning to melt off the way a snake might shed its skin. The creature's harrowing cries died out, and what was left of it flopped around on the floor in singed pieces, coated in ashes. If the stand user escaped with his life, it was nothing short of a miracle for him. Unfortunately, it was now that you realized the abrupt shift in detonation had set your knapsack ablaze.
"UWAAH!" You yelped and moved to douse the fire, glancing backwards in time to see your silver-haired comrade groan and regain his footing. His forearms were red and blistering- he must have used them to block your attack. "You okay?" You asked, and when he opened his mouth to respond, you heard Joseph's gruff voice ring out instead.
"What happened?!" The older man arrived in the smoky doorway of the hotel room, as the door itself was no longer in existence (thanks to you).
"Your tagalong interrupted my battle and nearly killed me!" Polnareff exclaimed.
"Excuse me?!" Your mouth hung open in astonishment. "Your sword couldn't even touch that stand! You'd have been a goner if I hadn't showed up!"
"Need I remind you of the deal you made when you started following us around, mademoiselle?" His tone was soaked with condescension. "You're a support member only. You aren't supposed to be fighting!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't have let yourself get ambushed in the hotel room!"
"I would have been fine on my own! I don't need you to save me, okay?!"
"Obviously you do because I did save you! A gentleman would say thank you!" You heard him scoff at that.
"That only applies if you were any kind of a lady." His smarmy attitude was aggravating you now.
"Well excuuuuuse me for not living up to your perfumed dollhouse standards." You flipped your hair at him as you walked through the burnt doorframe. "But it seems like I don't really have to be a damsel today. You've already got that role covered for me..." You shot him a smirk and his lips curled in anger. He took a stride forward, preparing his retort.
"Well I-"
"That's enough, you two!" Joseph held a restraining hand on Polnareff's arm, causing him to wince from the burns.
"Good grief. What happened here?" You grit your teeth slightly when you heard Jotaro's monotone approaching from around the corner. Jotaro was another member of the group whose bad side you didn't want to be on. Neither he nor Polnareff approved of your presence in their camaraderie. They believed that a lady on the battlefield would activate their chivalrous instinct and make them forget about their mission. You couldn't exactly blame them for feeling that way, as it remains one of the core reasons women aren’t allowed to fight on the front lines in many countries. Joseph, on the other hand, thought that was a load of hooey, and vouched for you. He cited his past teacher, Lisa Lisa, and her nearly unrivaled finesse and strategy, eventually convincing the group that you might be useful.
Jotaro was strangely easy-going despite his stiff appearance, and only stated his objection once. Polnareff, on the other hand, never let you forget it. He cast blame upon you repeatedly, thrusting your mistakes into the spotlight and continuously harping on how dangerous this was for you. Perhaps that is how this pattern of showing him up emerged.
He was quite the skilled stand-user, if you were being painfully honest with yourself. In a one on one battle, he would almost certainly cut you to ribbons. However, when faced with an enemy with abilities unknown, he was rather dense, nearly always letting his guard down and finding himself in trouble. He couldn't predict the moves of the adversary the way you and Joseph could... and maybe that was the reason he allowed you to tag along.
"Everything is alright now." Joseph calmly explained to his grandson as the last member of the group's red hair came into view.
"Are you guys okay? What I heard sounded like a gunshot!" Kakyoin eyed the pathetic excuse for a doorframe and then looked at Polnareff's tattered blackened clothes.
"An enemy stand attacked Polnareff in his room. F/N came to help." The older gentleman replied.
"Why was F/N in Polnareff's room?" The redhead asked curiously, and the towering men all looked at you.
"Yeah, F/N. Why did you come up here to my room?" His icy blue eyes bore into you, hoping to catch you in a mischievous act of pranking him or something. On the contrary, you had brought him an assortment of cheeses that they had been serving at a wine tasting buffet downstairs. It had been meant as a peace offering to remind him of his home country, but it was easy to see how well that intention turned out...
You glanced down, surprised to find that the tray you had dropped was still sitting in the hallway where you left it, most of the contents still balanced atop it. You retrieved it and held it out to him.
"Fromage, monsieur." You stated simply, and his snide expression was immediately replaced by a guilty one. He frowned at the plate as you walked away.
"Ooh, is that camembert? My favorite!" Kakyoin popped a sample into his mouth. Joseph also grabbed one.
"Not the Roquefort!" Polnareff whined, feeling that such a delicacy was wasted on his uncultured American palette.
"Mmm. It's kinda melted from the explosion. Tastes like fancy mac and cheese without the macaroni."
"Don't eat all of them!"