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No one knew how it came to this, but it was happening and everyone involved just rolled with it. That was how eight people found themselves on a volleyball court, currently a full team of six were on one side against a lonely two on the other.
“Hey, DIO!” Joseph pointed at the blond man on the other side of the court with an accusing finger. “Where the hell is the rest of your team? You know, if this was an official match, you’d be disqualified by now.”
“They’ll be here soon, Joseph. Have a little patience.” DIO replied, tilting his head upwards in an arrogant fashion.
“We’ve been waiting for half an hour now!” Joseph complained. “This is unfair on us!” He waved an arm in the direction of his team of two Japanese, a Frenchman, an Egyptian, and a dog.
“Indeed, it is.” Avdol nodded in agreement before adding. “Think about the audience as well.”
The audience who were waiting in anticipation for this volleyball game consisted of a group of male highschoolers from Morioh, a group of ladies from the Joestar family, and a group of Italians, all present at the gymnasium to support their respective friends and family.
The referee glanced at his watch and spoke up. “DIO, I’m afraid they have a point. If they don’t show up in the next ten minutes, we’re going to have to cancel this match… Some people have… you know, other things to do.”
“Speedwagon, you dare-” The great DIO, however, was interrupted by his only other teammate.
“He’s right, Padre.” The young blond spoke up. “I kind of want to leave already.”
“No, wait, Giorno.” DIO’s tone completely shifted as he turned to his son. “Don’t go yet. Please just give them a little more time. I’m sure they’ll show up soon.”
Just as a sigh left Giorno, a strange, melodic voice alerted everyone to the gymnasium doors, followed by a symphony of Aztec-like music. No one knew where the music was coming from but it was dramatic and powerful.
Swinging open the gymnasium doors, four broad men stepped forward with confidence. Their bodies were built like tanks, sharply defined muscles barely hidden behind thin pieces of clothing.
“They’re here,” DIO smiled wickedly as the late-comers approached the court.
“OH NO!” Joseph cried loudly from the other side of the net. “Not them!”
“Who are they, Gramps?” Jotaro sensed some urgency in his grandfather.
But he didn’t get a chance to reply when the one with dark, flowing hair spoke up. “Apologies for the tardiness,” he said through a slight smirk, making it appear as if he weren’t apologetic in the slightest.
“Let me introduce you,” DIO swung open his arms dramatically as he turned to the other team. “Meet the other four members of my team: Kars, Esidisi, Wamuu, and Santana. In other words, the pillar men!”
“That’s cheating!” Joseph accused. “You can’t bring professionals into this!”
“Who said I couldn’t?!” DIO laughed triumphantly, when Giorno snapped.
“Padre!”
DIO’s laughter was instantly cut short as he turned to the young blond. “Wh-What is it, son…?” He asked, worry audible in his voice.
Giorno didn’t reply instantly. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed again. “I know you said you were bringing friends, but I didn’t expect them to be these old men!”
“Old men?!” Esidisi gasped in offense.
DIO looked between the pillar men and his son. “What’s wrong with my friends, Giorno?”
A huff left Giorno. Putting a hand on his hip, he turned to his father with an unimpressed expression. “Couldn’t you have found someone my age? What am I supposed to do on a team full of guys twice my size and age?”
“Actually, I’ll have you know we’re probably a thousand times your age,” Wamuu corrected, earning a glare from Giorno which silenced him.
“But that shouldn’t matter, right?” DIO tried to placate his son’s disappointment. “Take a look at the other team, they have a dog and-”
“Did you just compare me to a dog…?” Giorno asked threateningly.
“A-Ah… No, I mean…” DIO struggled.
“I see the great DIO can’t win against his son!” Joseph didn’t hold back in laughing out loud.
In fact, it wasn’t only him, the rest of his team were snickering to different extents. Jotaro pulled his visor down to hide his face but you could see the upward pull of his lips. Kakyoin was trying to be polite with a hand over his mouth but laughter was clear in his eyes. Avdol had his back turned but the way his shoulders quivered explained enough. Polnareff was as subtle as Joseph, which in other words, wasn’t very as he was hunched over with his hands on his stomach and barely containing himself. Even the dog, Iggy, had a smirk on its face.
“You dare insult the great DIO?!” The blond man fumed but when it didn’t seem like the other team’s laughter was subsiding, he swiftly turned to Speedwagon. “Ref, I demand that we start the match, now!”
The first set was, surprisingly, just like any other volleyball match. Some serves were stronger than others, some plays were better executed than others, and some supporters were louder than others. But this rather normal and sensible volleyball game changed when the Crusaders began to work up some momentum.
A service ace from Polnareff and a mistake by Santana widened the gap in the scores, making it 22-20 to the Crusaders.
It was Polnareff’s serve once again. Precise and powerful, it looked like another service ace but Santana was determined to make up for his previous error. Diving and saving the ball, Giorno jumped to set the ball to Kars. The spiker hit the ball past Avdol’s block but Iggy was there to bump it up. Kakyoin moved into position, and delivered a very quick and well practiced toss to Jotaro who was already in the air.
“ORA!” Jotaro yelled as he spiked the ball past Wamuu’s block.
Reacting quickly, Esidisi dove for the ball. It looked as if he were going to reach it but the force of Jotaro’s spike was much more powerful than he thought. He thought he had saved the ball with his wrist but the impact was so great that it forced his hand into the floor, crushing it to the point of snapping.
A whistle was blown as the point was counted: 23-20 to the Crusaders.
Joseph cheered loudly as the first set looked increasingly in their favour, but such celebrations were quickly drowned out by a long forgotten, but not missed, embarrassing whimpering.
“Hey, Esidisi,” Kars walked up to his teammate. “Are you alright?”
A whistle was quickly blown by Speedwagon to announce a timeout.
From across the net, the Crusaders couldn’t really see what was happening. Esidisi was still on the floor, curled up into himself and rocking back and forth slightly. Somehow, Joseph knew what was going to happen next.
“Hey…” Wamuu voiced his concern too when Esidisi began screaming and wailing like a child.
“I just can’t take it anymore!” The grown man, also professional volleyball player, wept loudly. Thick streams of tears ran down his cheeks as he threw a pathetic tantrum. “My arm! It’s gone!”
“Ah…” Jotaro appeared to have realised that it was his spike that snapped Esidisi’s arm clean off. “My bad, sorry…” He apologised quietly, pulling his cap down to hide his face.
“Hey, Jotaro!” Joseph began to complain. “Don’t apologise to the enemy!”
“Waaaahhhhh!” Esidisi began to cry even harder, filling the gymnasium with his strained voice.
“Esidisi-san,” Giorno approached his teammate while holding the latter’s detached hand. “I can fix your arm for you.”
“Huh?” The professional paused before looking up blankly at the young blond.
Without waiting for a response, Giorno knelt down and used his ability to reattach his teammate’s hand. Everyone on his team, even DIO, was watching curiously over his shoulder at the healing. In a few moments, Esidisi was wiggling his fingers and flexing his wrist as if nothing happened.
He stood up silently. His shoulders visibly relaxed before he turned and sighed contently.
“Ahh, I feel better now. Thank you, Giorno.” He nodded to the young blond who simply nodded back. But then a rather thick arm was thrown over the slender teenager, as DIO leant his weight onto his son.
“That’s my boy! I would expect nothing less from the son of I, DIO!” The captain laughed proudly.
“But surely that trait’s inherited from Jonathan and not you, DIO.” Joseph corrected. “There’s no way you’re kind enough to heal a friend.”
“You dare-!”
“He’s right, y’know!”
DIO was interrupted by a voice calling from the bleachers. They all looked up and saw none other than Jonathan himself, waving at them with a wide smile.
“Wh-What?! JoJo?!” DIO exclaimed.
“Dad!” Giorno brightened up at the sight of Jonathan, trotting over to his other parent.
“Hi, Giorno!” Jonathan smiled down at his son from where he stood up in the stands. “Sorry I’m late. How is everything? Are they being nice to you?”
The young blond pouted lightly, followed by a shrug which made Jonathan chuckle quietly.
But before their conversation could continue, Speedwagon blew the whistle to resume the match since Esidisi’s issue was resolved.
“I’ll talk to you later, dad.” Giorno turned with a wave but Jonathan called him back.
“Wait, Giorno. Do you know whether Bucciarati’s here? I’d like to thank him for always looking after you.” Jonathan asked.
“He’s over there!” Giorno pointed to where said man was sitting together with his other gang members. Noticing Giorno pointing his way, Bucciarati waved in response.
“Ah, I see! Thank you, son!” Jonathan nodded. “Good luck out there!”
Giorno once again waved before turning to rejoin his teammates on the court.
“Alright, everyone ready?” Speedwagon asked as the players returned.
With a chorus of affirmatives, the referee blew the whistle again and signalled Polnareff to serve.
Bouncing the ball a few times to get his rhythm back after the timeout, the Frenchman breathed out before focusing. Fire lit in his eyes as he tossed the ball high into the air. Contact with the ball was made, and it sailed elegantly over the net.
“Jump floater!” DIO yelled.
Thankfully, Santana was there and bumped the ball into the air. The receive was good, as expected of a professional, so Giorno didn’t even have to move. Waiting for the ball to fall, the young blond assessed the court and the positions of the players before jumping and setting the ball to Kars.
Joseph and Jotaro were at the net to block but the powerful spike of a professional had them blown away. The ball ricocheted high into the air. It didn’t look like they could save it when a small black and white animal chased after it.
“Iggy!” Polnareff yelled as the dog managed to sneak under the ball before it touched the ground. Kicking it back onto the court, Kakyoin ran to connect the ball. He was far from his ideal position on the court but he would do his best to deliver a satisfactory toss.
“Jotaro!” The setter called as he directed the ball in the direction of his ace.
With green eyes locking onto the ball, Jotaro jumped into the air with his arm pulled back. He only had a second to scan the opponent’s side of the court when an oppressive pair of arms rose up from the other side of the net.
“MUDA MUDA MUDA!” DIO yelled.
Unintentionally faltering at the pressure of the block, Jotaro wasn’t able to spike the ball as hard as he would have like. The ball smashed into DIO’s block and rebounded just as strongly. Jotaro didn’t have time to react before the ball was sent straight into his face. The impact made him lose balance in midair and fall onto the floor.
“Jotaro!” His teammates worried.
“WRYYYY!” DIO celebrated happily as Jotaro covered his face with a hand.
“Jotaro, are you okay?” Kakyoin was by the other’s side, an arm around his shoulders in support.
“I’m fine…” Jotaro replied, massaging the bridge of his nose before he felt an unpleasant trickle run down his nose and onto the palm of his hand. He pulled his hand away and saw blood.
Pulling a handkerchief out, Kakyoin carefully placed the fabric under Jotaro’s nose. “A nosebleed is definitely not fine.” He scolded lightly.
Once again, Speedwagon had to blow the whistle for another timeout.
Giorno looked about ready to offer help when someone else spoke up.
“Is Jotaro-san alright?” Josuke asked as he ran up towards the court from where he assumedly jumped down from the bleachers.
“Ah, Josuke, good timing.” Kakyoin made room for the young man to heal Jotaro.
“A nosebleed, Jotaro?” DIO taunted. “How pathetic!”
“You should apologise, Padre.” Giorno suggested.
“Eh, why?!” DIO turned to his son in surprise.
“He apologised to Esidisi-san when his arm flew off.”
DIO looked as if he were about to argue but chose not to. Instead, he turned away from his son with huff and a pout.
Giorno sighed before bowing slightly to Jotaro. “Sorry about him.”
Jotaro dismissed it with a light wave of his hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not your fault.”
With his injury quickly taken care of, and after the two young healers had a friendly chat with one another, the match resumed again with the score at 23-21.
Wamuu was next to serve. Swift and powerful, the ball glided across to the Crusaders’ side of the court with Avdol receiving it without any difficulties.
Kakyoin was just considering his options while the ball was still high in the air when Polnareff called out to him.
“Kakyoin!” The Frenchman then proceeded to gesture a series of bizarre signs with his hands. For any normal person, the actions were too quick to decipher but a flash of understanding appeared in violet eyes and Kakyoin directed the ball to Polnareff.
It would seem that calling for the ball directed a great deal of attention to Polnareff. But even with three blockers in front of him, he didn’t seem fazed. In fact, he wore a big grin on his face as he bent his knees and prepared to jump.
The action made it appear he was going to jump so the blockers reacted in preparation. But that was all part of his plan. A time difference attack! Polnareff jumped after the blockers, allowing him to gain an advantage as they began to fall. Spiking it over the net, the Crusaders scored an easy point.
“YEEEEAAAHHH!!” Polnareff cheered as he turned to Kakyoin. They gave each other a firm high five, the clap ringing clearly through the rest of the gym. But that was not all. They then proceeded to do a series of complicated handshakes which made everyone wonder just when did they bother to learn and practice such a routine.
The score was 24-21, set point to the Crusaders
“WRYYYY!” DIO cried in frustration.
“Haha! Looks like we’ll be taking the first set, DIO.” Joseph taunted.
Something dangerous flashed up in DIO’s eyes as he turned to the other. “Don’t be too full of yourself!”
It was Avdol’s turn to serve. He took a big breath to compose himself before proceeding to throw the ball into the air. “Ah…” was his reaction when he hit the ball, signalling to the rest of the team that perhaps his serve didn’t go as smoothly as intended.
As if to demonstrate that, the ball caught the top of the net. The Crusaders prepared to lose the point but luck happened to be on their side and the ball tipped over, falling on DIO’s side of the court.
“I think not!” Kars managed to dive for the ball, sending it almost perfectly to Giorno.
Stepping under the ball, the young blond was about to toss to Esidisi when his father yelled.
“GIORNO!”
The power in his voice quaked the gym and Giorno didn’t have a choice but to send the ball his way.
“Jotaro!” Joseph called as he and his grandson jumped in front of DIO.
“MUDA!” DIO shouted, twisting his wrist to redirect the ball away from the blockers.
As the trajectory changed, the other Crusaders who were guarding the floor also shifted their positions to receive DIO’s spike. Polnareff was in position, ready and waiting.
But DIO wasn’t going to allow that.
Before he even touched ground after his spike, DIO yelled, “ZA WARUDO!”
And the entire gymnasium paused in that moment.
The ball was frozen in mid air in front of Polnareff. Jotaro and Joseph were still half jumping. Everyone else was motionless except from DIO.
“This… This is PERFECT!” DIO laughed victoriously as he ducked underneath the net and stepped onto the opponent’s side of the court.
Tapping on his chin with a grin, DIO asked a frozen Polnareff. “So, how should I mess with you?”
It was pointless asking, not only because Polnareff couldn’t hear or reply, but also because DIO already knew what he wanted to do. Moving Polnareff just a step back from where he was frozen in time, DIO planned it so that the ball would land with the perfect angle so that when it bounced…
Just the thought of it made DIO snicker.
Crossing back to his side of the net, DIO made sure he returned to where he was and jumped. Just as he reached the highest point of his jump, he said, “Time resume!”
This time, when he touched ground, so did Jotaro and Joseph, followed swiftly by the sound of the ball hitting the court.
“What?!” Joseph reacted as it appeared the ball had zipped past his and Jotaro’s block in an instant.
They turned to see where the ball had landed but what caught their attention more was Polnareff’s expression. Flashing between white and green, Polnareff was hunched over the ground with his hands between his legs. Even without having seen what happened, Joseph could guess. Silently, he saluted at Polnareff for his sacrifice.
Snickering, DIO felt very proud of himself. He turned dramatically only to see his son.
“That was a good shot, huh, Giorno.” DIO puffed out his chest with a smile.
Giorno, however, did not seem so proud. He gave his father a critical look which made DIO begin to quietly sweat.
“I’m going to tell dad if you do it again.” Giorno threatened, making DIO look away quickly.
“Wh-What could you be talking about?”
But before Giorno could even begin to answer, DIO turned away and occupied the part of the court furthest from his own son.
Blowing the whistle, Speedwagon announced that Polnareff would be sitting out for the rest of the set to recover. The score was 24-22 to the Crusaders, meaning it was still their set point. However, they now had one less person on their team.
It was Kar’s turn to serve and the remaining Crusaders prepared themselves.
Although powerful, Avdol was able to bump the ball up. Although it was a little off target, Kakyoin moved under it and tossed it to Joseph. The spiker pulled his arm back and swung hard but it hit the top of the opponent’s block.
“One touch!” Esidisi called as Santana went to connect.
“Giorno!” DIO called for the ball again as his son prepared to set.
The young blond pulled a reluctant face but still passed the ball to his father.
At the apex of his jump, DIO yelled, “ZA WARUDO!” And time came to a halt once again.
DIO couldn’t help the evil grin on his face. He loved this new plan of his. It was an ingenious comeback.
Deciding his next victim to be Kakyoin, DIO spiked the ball hard, aiming it directly at his target’s centre. The moment time resumed, Kakyoin would have the wind knocked out of him from a high velocity ball smashing right into his stomach. Once again, the thought of beating his opponents made DIO flutter in satisfaction.
“Time resume!”
As predicted, the ball slammed into Kakyoin. The impact not only made all the air escape his lungs but he was also sent tumbling back a few metres.
“Kakyoin!” Jotaro called as he ran to his teammate’s side.
“Hey, DIO!” Joseph pointed an accusing finger at the other captain. “You’re cheating, aren’t you?”
“How dare you?” DIO replied, feigning innocent.
“How else would you explain these last two points you’ve scored?!” Joseph demanded.
DIO shrugged dismissively. “I’m just better than you.”
An angry grumble left Joseph. “Don’t you have anything to say about your teammate?!” He directed the question at the pillar men who looked away, uninterested.
Giorno, however, looked rather unimpressed by DIO before strutting off the court.
“Wha-? Giorno?” DIO called after his son. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to dad!” Giorno replied without looking back.
“What? Why?” DIO appeared confused. “The match hasn’t ended yet.”
Giorno didn’t reply. He simply marched his way to the area below where Jonathan was sitting so that he could speak up at his other parent.
“Dad, I’m not playing anymore. Padre’s cheating.”
There was muttering among the audience before their attention shifted to DIO.
Jonathan simply sighed in response.
“You don’t look surprised,” Bucciarati pointed out.
“Well, it’s not the first time.” Jonathan smiled sadlywith a small shrug.
“Wait, how is he cheating?” Mista asked Giorno.
“He’s using his Stand.” Giorno replied with a hard roll of his eyes.
Back on the court, Joseph continued his earlier complaint. “So, you are cheating!”
“You have no proof!” DIO argued.
The two bickered among themselves while Jotaro helped Kakyoin to the bench where Polnareff was still resting.
“We should have known he would cheat,” Kakyoin chuckled lightly before wincing at the pain in his stomach.
“Are you alright?” Jotaro asked, helping Kakyoin sit down.
“Yeah,” Kakyoin nodded. “Just a bit sore. Thanks, Jotaro.”
“We’re at set point too,” Polnareff spoke up from beside them, still slightly hunched over.
Silently, Jotaro stood up. He pulled down his cap and said, “I’ll take care of it.” With a swift turn, Jotaro returned to the court, leaving his two injured teammates to trust the back of their ace.
“DIO,” Jotaro returned to the court, aura menacing and unforgiving. “We’ll be taking the first set.”
DIO didn’t seem intimidated. “Bring it on.”
Although reluctant, Speedwagon blew the whistle to resume the match. It was supposed to be a normal volleyball game. Actually, it did start as one. But as the game progressed, it became more and more complicated and if Speedwagon were honest, he would rather go home.
The score was 24-23, set point to the Crusaders. And Kars was again serving.
With only four people on the Crusaders side of the court, defending against a strong serve was much more difficult. One lost point would force the game into a deuce which would only put Joseph’s team at a disadvantage. If they wanted this to be over, with them coming out as victors, they not only had to defend this serve but they also had to score.
“Get ready!” Joseph called, energising the team as Kars did his run-up and sent the ball over the net.
Iggy barked to announce that he had it. Bumping the ball up with his paws, Iggy sent the ball safely up into the air. Although his skills were not as refined as Kakyoin, Joseph had enough years of volleyball under his belt that he could at least set an easy ball.
“Jotaro!” He called out.
But just as the ball left his fingertips, DIO’s voice shouted out.
“ZA WARUDO!”
DIO laughed victoriously as everyone in the gymnasium froze again. He marched across to the other side of the net and tapped the ball so that its trajectory changed. Jotaro had just leapt off the ground, trusting Joseph to toss the ball in his direction. But with DIO having interfered, it would simply appear as a toss error.
Returning to his side of the court and where he previously was, DIO resumed time.
“Oh no!” Joseph exclaimed as he noticed that the ball was not going the way that he wanted.
DIO couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face as the ball sailed off course. The match would enter deuce and that would easily give DIO the win. That was it, DIO was going to come out victorious in this-
But before he finished that thought, DIO’s gaze was caught by piercing green eyes. They bore into him dangerously and before he knew it, Jotaro’s figure shifted.
It happened in a blink. DIO was sure he was looking at Jotaro’s eyes when suddenly, he was gazing at his shoulder. His line of sight did not move. He did not look away. So why did it look like Jotaro had shifted into a different position? Unless-
But just as DIO figured it out, Jotaro made contact with the ball. The spike was coming his way and he did not react fast enough. He could not even mutter his Stand name before the ball hit him square in the thigh, tearing off the limb as it did Esidisi’s earlier.
Speedwagon blew the final whistle, ending the game at 25-23 to the Crusaders.
Sitting on the floor with one leg missing, DIO stared blankly at Jotaro from the other side of the net.
“Jotaro!” DIO pointed an accusing finger at said person. “You cheated!”
“How did I?” Jotaro asked, chin tilted slightly up in a display of arrogance.
DIO growled in frustration. “You did something at the end there, otherwise you would have never-”
“Never?” Jotaro interrupted. “How could you be so sure?”
“Why you…!” DIO hissed, snatching his leg from beside him and reattaching the limb.
“A loss is a loss, DIO!” Joseph taunted with his tongue out.
“This is only the first set!” DIO argued.
“I don’t know about you, DIO.” Speedwagon spoke up, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “But some of us have other things to do.”
“And it’s kind of your fault that two of our players have been injured.” Avdol added.
“Yeah, and your fault that your own setter dropped out.” Joseph reminded, rubbing salt into the wound.
“WRYYYYYY!” DIO screeched angrily.
“Come on, Padre.” Giorno returned to the court with Jonathan in tow. “Aren’t you tired? Let’s just go home.”
DIO continued to grumble complaints under his breath but didn’t argue any further.
“And so, the winner of this match goes to the Crusaders!” Speedwagon concluded, followed by a round of applause from the audience.
Although it was a bizarre end to what was originally planned to be a normal volleyball match, many were satisfied with the outcome. The audience were impressed by the level of skills involved between two teams of such varied players and characters. The Crusaders were obviously happy with the victory, though they did sustain two injuries but at least they weren’t fatal. And unexpectedly, on the other team, the pillar men were content with the match as it gave them a pleasant break from the professional scene, while Giorno, although reluctant at first, didn’t hate the experience. To no-one’s surprise, however, the only person who was unhappy was DIO himself who, according to Giorno, didn’t stop sulking about the loss for the following week.