Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Josuke was going to be late. He had been so caught up with all this Joestar drama that he completely forgot that he was still a student, and he still had to go to school. He opened his door to be greeted by a slightly annoyed Okuyasu.

“Oi, Josuke! You should have told me we were skipping! I wouldn’t’a come so early!”

“No, it’s not that! I just forgot! I was tired. Yesterday we were really busy, you know?”

“Oh. Hurry up!”

Josuke got ready hurriedly and shoved down his breakfast, before half-sprinting outside, and increasing his speed as he fought to get to school on time. Okuyasu followed suit. They arrived at the school completely out of breath, to find Koichi waiting for them at the gates.

“There you are! Why are you guys so late?”

“Forgot... we had... school” Josuke said in between pants.

“Let’s...not do that... again.”

Okuyasu was also breathless.

“Well, hurry up! The bell’s gonna ring!”

They stumbled into school, as quickly as they could so as to not add another day to their streak of being late 

***

The day itself was pretty uneventful at first. Josuke often found himself spending his free time thinking about the various stand users that they had encountered, but other than that it was just anyone’s average school day.

During his lunch break, he left his table to get a drink, before he got the feeling that something was terribly wrong. He must’ve been imagining it, because when he turned around, he saw Okuyasu and Koichi, as normal as ever.

There’s nothing wrong. You’re just being paranoid.

He turned around again to buy his drink when something hard slammed into his head. He staggered, his head spinning. People around him were staring at him, but not at the source of the injury.

A stand.

He looked around. However, there was no sign of anything.

Could I have been imagining it?

No, that wouldn’t explain the thing that rammed into my head.

He saw a white blur pass through the school gates.

There!

He began to run towards it when he was overcome with a wave of dizziness.

Huh? That hit must’ve been harder than I thought.

Black began to enter his vision.

Not good. Fuck that, this isn’t normal either. It’s a trap. I should go back to Koichi and Okuyasu. We can probably face the stand together.

He tried summoning Crazy Diamond, but nothing happened.

What?

He put it down to the nausea.

He turned around to return to his friends, and stifled a yelp when hands wrapped around his shoulders. He felt the same thing slam into his head, and his vision went black.

***

Jotaro was awoken from his much-needed nap by a phone call.

He had become so sleep deprived over the past few days that he fell asleep in the middle of a discussion about the stand users in Morioh, and his grandfather had bullied him into getting some proper rest.

Could they not call later?

He picked up the phone.

“Hello?”

“Jotaro-san!”

“Koichi?”

“Yes, Okuyasu! He picked up the phone, come here!”

This was unusual. Koichi didn’t usually call him unless it was urgent.

“Jotaro-san! Josuke’s missing! Did he go to your hotel or something?”

Jotaro frowned.

“No. He didn’t. How long has he been gone?”

“He disappeared during lunch break! At first we thought he was just skipping, but we haven’t seen him anywhere!”

“Have you called his mother?” Jotaro began to wear his coat and hat.

“Um- no, well we didn’t want to worry her.”

“Good. Don’t. I’m coming, meet me at the station.”

“Ok! Please hurry!”

Koichi put down the phone. Jotaro’s frown deepened.

Shit.

***

Upon walking to the station, he found Koichi and Okuyasu, the former looking incredibly distressed and the latter on a verge of a panic attack.

“Jotaro-san!” Okuyasu cried. “He-he’s never done this before! He would’a told me! He would’a told me if he was going somewhere!”

Jotaro nodded stiffly. He didn’t really know what to say.

“From what I’ve seen so far,” Koichi started, “people who were around him at the time said that his head just started bleeding. It was as if he got knocked back by an invisible force.”

“So it’s definitely a stand.”

“Mhm. And people also said they saw him by the gates.”

“Why didn’t he use his stand?”

“We don’t know.”

“Alright, let’s search the area a bit. We might find something there.”

However, the only evidence that there had been a fight was a few splatters of blood in the school grounds.

Someone might have taken him somewhere. Or it could be a stand that makes things invisible. Or-

No, there’s too many possibilities. It’s pointless. We need more evidence, or some basis to form a theory on. Right now, it could be absolutely anyone.

“Surveillance. Does the school have cameras or something?”

“I-I guess I could ask.”

They eventually managed to get hold of the surveillance. However, this also showed them nothing. They saw Josuke getting hit by some sort of invisible force. He seemed to have caught sight of something and ran towards the gates. However, there were no cameras at the gates to show what happened.

What sort of school doesn’t have cameras by the gates?

When he asked the staff, all Jotaro got was this answer: “We’re sorry, Mr Kujo. The cameras there broke down when students were, ah, experimenting. We could call someone to fix them. We did, in fact, but they are due to arrive next week.”

He gritted his teeth. “No. It’s fine. Thanks.” And reluctantly left.

“What do we do, Jotaro-san?” Koichi asked. Meanwhile, Okuyasu was on the verge of hysterics.

“I- he would just leave! He would’a- he would’a-“

“Don’t call his mother. I’ll tell the old man if it gets really bad. Josuke is reliable. He has a strong stand and he knows what he’s doing. He should be fine.”

“O-okay.”

As he walked back to the hotel, Jotaro seriously hoped he was right.

Chapter Text

He opened his eyes. Where was he? He remembered fighting the stand user, if you could really call it fighting, but after that his memory was a complete blank.

...unless... I’ve been out this entire time?

How long had it even been? He felt disconnected from his own body, and even thinking a lot was a challenge for him. He put a hand to his forehead. It was bleeding.

Ah, that explains it.

He tried summoning Crazy Diamond, but to no avail.

That’s weird. Why won’t my stand come out?

Someone had taken off his shoes, socks and jacket. He began to shiver.

He got up, but his head began to spin so badly he fell to the ground again. He felt himself impact against the wall, leaving him in an even worse state than before. His eyes drooped.

He didn’t know how long had passed when a rectangle of light appeared out of nowhere. He squinted. There was a voice.

“You are the son of Joseph Joestar, correct?”

He said nothing. He didn’t know if he could, and didn’t want to embarrass himself trying. He tried to get up again, but a force he couldn’t see slammed him onto the ground.

“Ah, well. We’ll get you talking in no time. You’ll need to be as animated as possible for this to work.”

For what to work?

“I think you’re pretty out of it right now. I’ll just make sure that you can’t escape once you fully come around.”

What is he-

Josuke tried to scramble away but he heard a crack and intense pain flared up his leg. He heard a cry of pain, but he felt so detached from himself that he couldn’t even confirm if he was the source.

Did he just-

He broke-

It was a strange feeling. It felt as if the pain had gone to such an extent that it turned his leg numb.

“D’you like that?” Josuke could practically hear the grin in the man’s voice. “Want more?”

Wait he’s going to-

Josuke tried to get up and speak, but his head was spinning so much.

Nonononononono don’t do-

Not there-

Another crack. Another cry of pain, however this one was far more intense. Whoever it was doing this had managed to snap right where he had been impaled by a banister, just weeks before. He felt his head thud against something hard.

It burns- it burns-

Stop-

The rectangle of light got larger. Horrified, he realised that his legs were twisted at sickening angles. He felt like vomiting. The worst part was that due to the shock, they had become nearly completely numb. And as the rough hands grabbed him around the shoulders he could feel his legs swinging uselessly, yet the intense pain he had felt earlier had subsided into a dull throb.

In the back of his mind, he wished that unconsciousness would just take him, so that he didn’t have to experience this.

Have the others-

Do they know-

He was hoping they did. He would have burst out himself if he was just able to use his stand.

That might be-

Their ability-

If he was honest, Josuke was surprised he could still think at all.

He was thrown into another room. Stifling a cry, he noticed a camera in the corner.

My leg-

Wait-

A camera?

“I don’t reckon you’re feeling that energetic right now, so we’re gonna wait for you to rest up. Be grateful, although ultimately, remember that this is for us.” With that, the man exited the room. Josuke heard the click of the lock before the footsteps became more and more distant, and he was left to his own thoughts, trying not to focus on his legs.

***

Jotaro was, to say at the least, worried. It wasn’t like Josuke to just disappear like this, without even telling anyone. However, he never would’ve expected to find a tape on his room doorstep. He almost didn’t want to pick it up, since he immediately knew that whatever it was had something to do with his uncle.

He sat down and inserted the tape. As it warmed up, he saw that it was monitoring a room. He frowned. The room was empty. A man walked into the light. His face was covered.

He knows what he’s doing.

“I’m hoping that Joseph Joestar is the one watching this. If it’s someone else, I would advise giving it to the man in question. You have been warned.”

The man left the room. Several minutes later, he entered again, this time dragging someone with him.

Wait- is that-

Surely enough, Jotaro could recognise the pompadour, even though it was slightly messy at this point.

Josuke.

He picked up the phone, without taking his eyes off the recording, and dialled Koichi’s number. He clenched his teeth as he realised that Josuke’s legs were twisted at nauseating angles. Tears ran down the boy’s face, and his head was bleeding.

His legs look broken- and he’s concussed, or something.

Koichi picked up the phone.

“Hello? Hirose residence.”

“Koichi. I found out what happened to Josuke. He’s been kidnapped.”

“Kidnapped?” Koichi’s voice sounded as if it were an entire octave higher.

“Yes. They sent a tape. I’m trying to figure out where he is, can you come over?”

“I...ok- yeah ok.”

“Thanks. Bye.” He put down the phone, returning his attention to the screen. Josuke had seemingly passed out, as anyone would’ve done in that much pain, and the man had left the room.

Around an hour after Koichi had arrived, the same man walked in on the tape, and looked directly at the camera.

“So, Joseph Joestar, as you can see, I’ve got your son here. We will return him to you if you meet our demands.”

Demands?

“However, we do have more in plan to show what we’re capable of.”

They’re going to-

“So we will not tell you our demands just yet, in case you underestimate us and charge in here alone.”

Shit. This is bad. They’re planning on hurting Josuke further.

“They’re-“ Koichi sounded horrified.

“I’m going to play it again.” Jotaro picked up a notebook. “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to.”

And he observed.

Chapter Text

Jotaro was getting increasingly frustrated.

After analysing the entire damn clip 3 times, there was still nothing. No leads to follow, and not even a single hint at the kidnapper’s identity.

This isn’t good. What could their terms even be? Josuke is in danger right now, and I have no clue how to help him.

I know by now that the only way to figure this out is by looking at the next tape when it gets sent. But that means watching the kidnapper ‘demonstrate what they’re capable of’. Surely that means something to hurt Josuke further.

I’m fairly certain they won’t kill him though. They seem to have some sort of ulterior motive.

Maybe it’s... money? That would make sense. But even if they demand money and we give them what they want, they might not release Josuke. Or they might release him and take him again when he’s still weak. We can’t risk that. Once we find who this is, I’ll beat the shit out of them myself.

Jotaro clenched his teeth. He would find his uncle.

***

Josuke opened his eyes again to find himself in the same room as before. The pain in his legs had reduced slightly; however, he had no hope of trying to get away now. Especially now that he knew he couldn’t use his stand.

How long has it even been?

He tried not to think about the others. Even he was smart enough to know that they had next to no hope of finding him, unless the stand user had told them something that he hadn’t heard.

He faded in and out of consciousness as time passed, but he couldn’t tell exactly what the time was, when the man walked back into the room. Josuke wished he could actually get up more than ever.

Wait, what’s in that tray?

“Ight, it looks like you’ve fully come around now. You’re gonna enjoy this.”

He did some fiddling around with the camera, not putting down the tray he was holding.

Shit. I’ve gotta do something.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Josuke knew this question was more to delay than anything, but it was worth a shot.

“Feisty, are we?” The Mann pressed a red button on the camera.

“Ight, lets get started then.”

“Hello, Joseph Joestar.”

Wait, what?

He’s sending a tape to them?

Maybe Jotaro-san will see it?

I’ve gotta help them.

But wait. My legs are broken. It’s not like I can do anything.

“You can call me Cal, cause I ain’t revealing my real name.”

“As you have probably figured out by now, in this video I will be stating my demands.”

“But first... to show you how severe this situation is for your dear son.”

What the fuck is he saying?

The man turned to Josuke.

Wait a minute-

His eyes widened with realisation.

I’ve gotta get out of here. If I can’t use my legs, I’ll use my arms.

It was a stupid idea, but he had to try.

Before he could do anything, a pressure came crashing down on his left arm. He screamed as he heard a crack.

What-

My arm-

“Exactly,” Cal purred, “that’s what you get for trying to run.”

My arm-

He didn’t dare look at what it had become.

Cal turned Josuke over.

My legs- it hurts- don’t-

He crouched down by his feet.

“Smile for the camera.” He whispered in Josuke’s ear.

And then he pulled on Josuke’s leg.

Nonono-

Get OFF-

IT. HURTS.

And his hand rested on his foot.

“Yes, let’s start here.”

Josuke blinked, trying to regain his focus, and instantly regretted it when he saw Cal with a metal thing in his hand.

My foot- he’s gonna-

No. There’s no way he actually-

It reached his toenail.

No. He’s not- he’s- don’t-

It locked on, and Josuke felt absolute agony as it wrenched backward, taking the nail with it.

Don’t- please-

Josuke tried to speak; to get the man to stop; he tried to say anything, anything-

Stop- I’ll- I’ll- do what you want-

But what did he want?

That’s right. He wanted something from his father.

And-

The toenail came off.

Had he been screaming? He didn’t know. His face felt wet, with sweat or tears, he didn’t know.

Would Mr Joestar even help him?

He didn’t know.

All he knew was that Cal was going to keep hurting him like this, until he died.

Jotaro.

Someone.

Help. Please.

He didn’t even know who he was praying to at this point.

The intense pain from earlier had subsided into the horrible feeling of nothing.

But not for long.

The tool- what was it again? Ah yes, the pliers got closer to the next nail.

It was then when it dawned on Josuke that he was going to do this to all his nails.

Shit- don’t- get away-

And he pulled.

Nonononono-

Get that thing off my-

Josuke screwed his eyes shut.

Focus on something else- don’t-

Another tug.

Fuck- no- this is- wrong- don’t-

And another.

Get it- OFF-

And another, as the nail came free.

Someone-

Josuke let out a stifled sob.

I can’t-

Go away-

He tried to lunge away, forgetting that his legs were broken. He stifled another scream. Cal laughed.

“That’s what I’ve been looking for! Well done!”

Josuke tried to blink back his continuous tears, but they didn’t stop coming. He tried to curl in on himself, but Cal grabbed him by the legs again.

And he could only watch in horror and unsuccessfully try not to make a sound as his toenails came off, one by one.

“I’m only gonna do one foot for now. I need to preserve the other for later.”

Later?

Josuke was struggling to stay conscious. His head lay on the ground, his vision blurry. All he could see was red.

Why am I even trying?

As he realised this, he closed his eyes and let himself sink into unconsciousness.

***

A couple hours later and a good few miles away, a man in a white coat and hat clenched his fist in sheer, raw, anger. He watched as the man on the tape continued speaking.

“Alright, Joseph Joestar, I hope you’ve gotten the message.” Jotaro tried not to focus his vision on the unconscious teen in the corner.

“Now for our demands. If I’m honest, they’re pretty simple.”

The only thing that’s simple is his mind.

“We want your share of the Speedwagon foundation.”

I’m going to pummel him.

“I’ll get back to you tomorrow with the details.”

Chapter Text

Jotaro couldn’t bring himself to watch the tape again. Even if he needed clues or whatever.

He felt sick. There was simply no other way to put it.

How could someone find pleasure in giving someone else so much pain?

He hadn’t told Koichi about this. He didn’t think he could bring himself to. He hadn’t told the old man either.

And now he sat, blinking back tears of frustration, and biting his lip so hard he could taste the coppery tang of blood in his mouth.

He tried to push himself to think. Just to think about something that wasn’t the way that Josuke was screaming, crying for help.

Think about that when you’re in front of that bastard. Think about that when you’re going to beat the shit out of him.

Cal had wanted a share of the entire Speedwagon Foundation. To be more specific, he wanted the old man’s share.

Like hell I’m gonna give him that. The papers would take too long anyway, and we can’t have the foundation being used for this sort of thing.

He ran a hand through his hair.

He said he’d get back to me tomorrow.

He’s going to do the same thing, if not worse tomorrow.

How can I let that happen?

I’ve got to- do something

-tell someone

If I told jiji, he could take a spirit photo, but-

It’d be better than doing nothing.

He called Mr Joestar with the room telephone.

“Jiji. Yes. Come here. I’ll tell you about it when you come.”

As Joseph entered the room, Jotaro began to doubt himself.

Well there’s no point turning back now, it’s-

Joseph interrupted his thoughts.

“It’s about Josuke, isn’t it?”

“I-“

“Something happened. And it’s about Josuke.”

“How did you-“

Joseph sighed. “Just tell me what’s wrong.”

Jotaro lowered his gaze. “He’s been kidnapped. They’re putting him through- bad things.”

“How bad?”

Jotaro was silent, and that was all the answer Joseph needed.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

***

Josuke was using all his willpower not to look at his foot.

All he could feel was pain. His ears were throbbing, and his vision was tinted red. He felt like this was all a nightmare.

Wake me up

Someone.

I-I’m going delusional. I need to snap out of it.

But god it hurts.

He was- saving more for later.

I don’t ever want-

Where even am I?

That’s right. He needed to figure things out. He needed to ignore the pain, and get the hell out of wherever he was.

But before he could contemplate anything, the door opened, revealing not one, but two figures.

...there’s two of them...

Does Jotaro-san know...

They began to speak. He tried to listen to their conversation, but their voices were muffled through the ringing in his ears.

“ █ ▉▇█ him?”

“Yep.”

“ █ ▉█ pathetic ██ ▇█▇███ you █ ▇▇█▆ videos?”

“Mhm █ ▇▉▉ would ▇█▉██▇ one?”

“ █ ▉ like ▇█ shot █ ▉█▇▉▉█ understand ▇▆█ ”

“ █ ▉▇█ all yours.”

An unfamiliar silhouette approached him. He knew this was not Cal, as this person seemed much more slim, their form casting a much smaller, although hardly less menacing shadow.

And as this smaller figure put his face to Josuke’s ear, he got the feeling that this man was far worse than the former.

“Hello there, Josuke.” He whispered.

And without any warning, something promptly brought the force down on his head again, knocking him out.

***

Joseph Joestar was not a senile man.

Many people found that hard to believe as he aged, sometimes even his own family. It annoyed him at first, but then he learned to use that to his advantage.

So he kept up the facade of not seeming to have a care in the world.

This was how he knew, straight away, that something was wrong with Josuke. He could see it on Jotaro’s face well before he was told.

And now he brought out his stand, in hope of finding some sort of clue as to where Josuke was.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

They had decided on using a TV this time, since using a camera hadn’t worked previously, only showing pictures of the serial killer Angelo.

The TV turned to static, before an image came into view.

Joseph didn’t really know what he had been expecting, if he was honest, but he felt horrible seeing his son unconscious on the ground, 3 of his limbs bent at very unpleasant angles, and one foot caked with blood.

Joseph also noted how his grandson tensed up next to him.

He let his eyes wander to the other person in the room, when Jotaro spoke.

“He’s. Different. There must be two of them.”

“Ah.”

Wait- what is he holding?

“Jotaro, is he-“

“Those were not there last time.”

Knives.

These didn’t look like normal kitchen knives, no, they were in all shapes and sizes, designed purely for torture.

Joseph had seen enough movies to know where this was going. He looked at Jotaro, who seemed to be staring through the screen, not at it.

“Jotaro, I’m going to watch it. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

Jotaro didn’t seem to hear him.

The man on the camera began to speak.

“So Cal, we giving this recording to them tomorrow?”

“Yup. Are you sure you want him out for this?”

“Definitely. I’ve realised that hurting someone when they’re down makes them feel even worse. Plus, I don’t like noise.”

“He’s going to be really out of it when he wakes up.”

“Yep.”

Behind Jotaro, the phone rang. He got up silently to pick it up. Joseph could only hear his side of the conversation.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Koichi. What is it?”

A pause.

“...oh.”

“You could use Echoes to mimic his voice.”

“That’s fine.”

“No, we haven’t made much progress. The second clip didn’t really have anything in it.”

He’s probably lying because he doesn’t want to put Koichi and Okuyasu through this. They’re still kids, after all.

“Yes. I’ll get back to you if I find anything. Bye.”

He sat back down. On the TV, the stranger seemed to be polishing the knives.

What’s he even trying to do?

“He’s lining them with some sort of drug.”

“What?”

“Look at the cloth.”

Upon closer inspection, Joseph saw that the cloth was wet.

“What do you think it could be?”

“I don’t know. Just. Find out where he is. Then I’ll go.”

Joseph peered at the screen again. The room seemed to be some sort of basement. It made sense that Jotaro wouldn’t have known this, since the camera they were using to record had been angled to face the bare wall.

A pile of discarded items was in the corner.

Are those... awards?

They were, in fact. Several awards heaped into a corner, however none of them seemed at all grand.

“They look like... second and third place awards. Not a single first.”

That caught Jotaro’s attention. His head snapped up.

“Not one?”

“Nope. Do you know-“

“Yoshikage Kira’s old house had awards like that. But I don’t remember them having a basement.”

“To be fair, it looks like a hurried project. The walls are literally half built.”

“Right.”

Jotaro got up.

“I’m going. If he’s not there, he’s not there. We’ll look again.”

“Take someone with you.”

“I wouldn’t want to bother anyone.”

“I understand about the kids, at least take Rohan or someone?”

“...fine.”

Jotaro made his way to the door.

“And Jotaro?”

“Yes?”

“Please don’t be reckless.”

Chapter Text

Rohan was irritated. All he wanted to do was work on his manga, and then he gets a call from Jotaro Kujo of all people, and now he has to save Josuke, the one person he hated the most.

The only good he was getting out of this was the material.

“Where are we even going, anyway? I’ve got deadlines to keep up with, I can’t be wasting my time.”

“You can be such an asshole sometimes, you know?” Jotaro snapped, taking Rohan by surprise. “We’re going to Yoshikage Kira’s house.”

“Kira? Isn’t he-“

“Yes, he is dead. Josuke’s being kept there, we think, by some other people. Now shut up.”

Another thing that confused him was why Jotaro didn’t ask Koichi for help instead. He normally tended to turn to the student in the unlikely event that he was in need, since he was reliable.

However, when he had asked Jotaro about this, the only reply he got was that Koichi ‘was busy’.

And as they drove to their destination know yet, Rohan had a sneaking suspicion that the older man was lying.

***

Joseph didn’t really know what to think anymore.

As much as he didn’t want to watch them, he knew it was a necessity for him to analyse the clips to find anything his grandson might’ve missed.

This was often the case when Jotaro was angry. He tended to lose his head sometimes, and Joseph could tell that the stand user had made a mistake by targeting Josuke. Jotaro was downright pissed, almost as much as how angry he was at Dio for killing his friends.

It wasn’t that Joseph wasn’t angry, no. If he had been in a better state he would’ve gone with Jotaro, even if his grandson insisted that he stayed.

But Joseph had experienced loss before, and he had known what it was like for years, ever since his father died. In short, he knew how to keep his head cool, whereas Jotaro definitely didn’t.

He sat down to watch the tapes. The first one had him feeling uncomfortable. He had actually been expecting worse, but his suspicions were confirmed with the second clip, which was enough to make bile crawl up his throat.

How horrible. How could they do that? No wonder Jotaro was so stressed.

He turned back to the TV and brought out Hermit Purple once more. The vines wrapped themselves around the device and the image from before appeared again.

But one thing was different.

Joseph was forced to watch helplessly as the stranger from earlier played with the knives that were embedded in his son.

He’s torturing him.

And it hurt for Joseph to watch, but he had to.

Josuke was his son, after all.

***

There was pain, then stillness.

He was neither awake nor asleep. He felt everything, yet it was as if he were floating, submerged under something. He couldn’t move, nor could he do anything really. He couldn’t even tell if his eyes were open or shut, or whether he was actually breathing.

It was a strange feeling. He wasn’t sure if he liked it.

Then the pain came again, and god it hurt, and he tried to cry out, but there was only silence.

And then it stopped.

He couldn’t think. Whenever he tried to his head felt fuzzy, so he tried to relax himself instead. After all, he had no sense of where he was, who he was.

And this cycle repeated, this on-and-off torment.

He didn’t know how long it would last. For all he knew, time could’ve been stopped.

This must’ve been how he felt.

But wait. Who was he again?

The fleeting moment of concentration had vanished, to be replaced once more by the endless tranquility, the feeling of sinking further and further.

The pain seemed to have stopped. No, it was still there. It had just come to the point where he even felt numb to whatever world he was currently in.

And so he stayed in that state.

Not like he could do much about it anyway.

***

Yan was getting bored. He hadn’t recorded enough footage in his terms, yet the boy had been reduced to a shivering mess.

Cal must’ve been harder on him than I thought.

There had been a moment when Josuke was on the verge of consciousness, twitching and groaning slightly before Yan had taken care of that using another blow to his head.

It’ll take around half an hour for the drugs to settle in. I shouldn’t have to do that again hopefully.

Josuke was now covered in stab wounds of various shapes and sizes. It probably would’ve made any normal person faint at the sight. But Yan was used to this.  He had done this sort of thing multiple times, and had the experience that many people lacked.

Due to this experience he knew for a fact that the boy would not die; yes, he might be reduced to a comatose state due to the drug that the knives had been traced with, for several months if he and Cal were lucky, but eventually he would recover. This was essential, as it gave Joestar all the hope he needed that his son was alive.  As well as this, it would be a good opportunity for them to take him again, under different names.

He drove another knife into Josuke’s shoulder, twisting it as it went in. Not a single response from the boy.

In a way he preferred it this way, as he had told Cal earlier. He loathed how they would always scream and beg for mercy. No one was coming for them, it was a futile effort. He also hated noise in general, so in comparison he was enjoying his time with the student.

However he didn’t expect his peace to be interrupted by Cal himself, barging in urgently.

“They’re here.”

“What?”

“You heard me. They’re here. They found out somehow.”

“What do we do?”

“We face them. You can release your stand from the boy and use it on one of them. It’s not like he’s in any state to summon his.”

“Alright.”

Yan got up to help greet their visitors.

Chapter Text

He was trying to run while limping. There was a banister impaled in his leg, and white hot pain was flaring up his side. He didn’t dare look at it. Behind him, the murderer called. 

“It’s too late. Your friend is dead.”

No. Okuyasu wasn’t... he wouldn’t just...

He clenched his teeth. 

Gotta go heal him. He’ll be fine. 

He heard a voice and turned around. 

Koichi. 

“It’s too late. You failed.”

What is he saying...?

He tried to speak, but only succeeded in making a choking noise. 

And then there was Jotaro. He looked up. “I made a mistake of putting that much trust in you.”

No . That wasn’t Jotaro. Jotaro didn’t openly just say things like that. 

And then there was Okuyasu again, a massive hole in his side. 

“You let this happen.” His voice was gaunt, empty. 

No. 

The murderer was laughing. 

“See? It’s all your fault! They’d be alive if it weren’t for you!”

What’s the point if there’s nothing left to fight for?

I said I’d protect the city in honour of my grandfather, and I failed. 

He closed his eyes as he felt himself slipping away, and he gratefully let sleep take him.

***

The pain had stopped. 

That was the first thing that he noticed. The second was that he could think again, although not very clearly. 

He opened his eyes, but they felt so heavy, so he left them half open. 

It was still dark, although he could hear crashing from above. 

His thoughts first went to Kira. 

Did I... fail?

Are Okuyasu and Koichi really...

His face was wet. 

Jotaro. An ambulance. 

He’s dead. He’s dead, and he’s not coming back. Josuke internally cursed himself. 

So where the fuck...

Light pooled into the room as a loud crash resulted in the door falling flat. He saw the bloody mess that his foot had become. 

Surely I wouldn’t be feeling so queasy just from that?

He was unaware of the blood loss caused by the knives as he tried to move. 

My legs are broken. I remember that. So is my left arm. My stand...

He tried to summon Crazy Diamond, and to his relief saw pale pink flash before his eyes, disappearing as quickly as it arrived. 

He felt his head hit the ground again, and tried to move his unbroken arm. 

What the fuck.... why is there so much blood?

He felt exhausted. He hadn’t realised up until now, but sleep seemed like such a good idea to him, although something told him that passing out would put him in danger. 

So Josuke, being unable to move anywhere, just lay there uselessly. 

***

They had arrived. 

Jotaro had been annoyed at Rohan for treating this like an inconvenience, even if his reasons were probably justified. No one would enjoy being unwillingly dragged into fights. 

He was reminded of Iggy, whose life had been lost for that exact reason. 

A complete asshole, yet a good sense of where things just get wrong. 

This is stupid. Why am I even thinking of that mutt?

The truth was, he was terrified for Josuke, though he wouldn’t admit that to even himself, and he was simply looking for distractions. He had seen those knives. Josuke had been through as much as him, and he wouldn’t wish that pain upon anyone innocent, let alone family. 

These stand users, however, were a different case. 

If he was honest, Jotaro didn’t even care if he killed them by accident. 

He didn’t knock. He simply used Star Platinum to knock down the door. He turned to Rohan. 

“You see anyone, stand user or not, you use Heaven’s Door on them.”

Rohan nodded. He seemed to be understanding the severity of the situation by this point. 

They didn’t bother entering quietly, since the door breaking had already informed anyone potentially inside that there were intruders. Together they searched for any hidden doors, when Jotaro felt someone enter from behind. 

He whipped around and felt his arm break , although it was too fast to register immediately. 

“Ah, you’re a lucky one then. If I had gotten your head this would’ve been much easier.”

It was Cal, from the videos. 

Star Platinum came out again, just as eager as its user to beat the man senseless. 

“Not so fast.” Cal mused. 

Time stopped. He punched Cal in the face, when something inside of him snapped. 

The last time I felt like this was when I saw Dio take jiji’s blood. 

He let out a barrage, ignoring the searing pain in his arm, as time began to resume. 

The force didn’t come back, and Cal stumbled and began to run. 

“Rohan! He’s this way!”

I hope he actually hears me. 

He pounced at the stand user, like a wolf would at its prey, when he realised that the second man was there, the one with the knives. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr Kujo.”

Jotaro gritted his teeth.

“I’d advise you not to. You’re at a serious disadvantage. I’ve already taken care of your friend.”

Rohan-

“No no! He’s not dead, don’t worry. But soon, you will be. Cal’s stand is much weaker than mine. While his can only break bones, mine can disable your stand completely.”

He flew at Yan in rage. 

It was then that he realised that Star Platinum wasn’t there. 

But he didn’t care . 

People didn’t tend to assume this, but Jotaro could throw a punch. 

And at this point, he didn’t even remotely care if he broke his fingers. 

My arm’s already broken anyway.

At this moment he was filled with adrenaline because he was furious . 

So he threw his punches, one by one, taking the other two men completely by surprise. He was reminded of his teenage years, when he beat up delinquents, landing them in hospital. He saw Dio in these men, that evil incarnate. 

In a matter of minutes, Cal was out cold. Yan, however, was still going strong. He smirked. 

“Good. Now that he’s out of the way, we can really have fun.”

What the fuck is he saying?

The shorter man delivered a solid punch right to Jotaro’s solar plexus, knocking the wind out of him. He felt himself struggle to breathe. 

No. I am not going to lose this fight. 

He regained his balance and punched back. Things escalated as the punches went back and forth. This was no longer a stand battle of wits; it was a full-scale brawl, not unlike ones you would see during fistfights in dark alleyways. And the two men were simply the leaders, fighting for dominance. To Jotaro, Yan was no longer evil, he was just another delinquent for Jotaro to beat up. And somehow, that was worse.

As well as this, Jotaro had something the smaller man lacked: that sheer determination, that drive to protect what he cared for. 

However, he hadn’t been expecting the bastard to have more knives. 

One was driven into his shoulder; another into his chest. 

It was at that moment that Jotaro Kujo realised he was an insanely lucky man. The damn blade had barely missed his heart. He wanted to stop there and then, he was exhausted and the knife in his chest wasn’t helping. He hadn’t acknowledged the pain, but it came slowly as he persisted with his punches. 

Keep going. I’m not going to lose this. 

The truth was, he was at a serious disadvantage. Although his opponent was also tired, he didn’t have two knives in him, nor was his arm broken. 

He thought he was done for when he heard a cry behind him. 

“Heaven’s Door!”

Jotaro whipped around, narrowly avoiding a punch from Yan, to see Rohan with his stand out. 

He tried to speak, but only choked on the blood in his mouth. Yan, meanwhile, was knocked to the floor, his face spilling into open pages. Rohan walked up to him and wrote: I cannot use my stand. I cannot attack Rohan Kishibe or his allies. Jotaro felt Star Platinum come back to him, although he didn’t summon the purple ghost. 

Rohan turned to him. “Are you alright?”

Jotaro nodded. The mangaka frowned. “You literally have two knives embedded in yourself.”

“That doesn’t matter.” He was glad he could speak normally, although his voice felt quieter than usual. “Are you hurt?”

“He hit my head. I think I’m alright.”

“Good. We need to find Josuke.”

“...Should we take out the knives?”

“Take them out.”

Rohan tentatively pulled one out.  Jotaro winced. 

”That might’ve been traced with the drug that Josuke was given.”

“That means you have it as well now?”

“I don’t know. Not like we have much time anyway. We need to find him awake, ideally.”

So they continued their search. 

Chapter Text

He didn’t know how long had passed when he sensed two presences in the room. His ears weren’t ringing like earlier, but he felt like he was underwater. 

“█▇suke.”

Was someone speaking to him? 

“Ca█▉█▇ear me?”

He said nothing. He didn’t think he could anyway. Something heavy was draped around him. He relaxed, succumbing to the warmth. 

“Th█▉▇██ to hurt.”

Strong arms lifted him. He screamed as fiery agony erupted in his legs. His thoughts first went to Cal, and he almost tried to swing off, but these arms were gentle, and keeping him in a secure hold, as still as possible.

“█▉▆han. We▉▆▊▉█pital.”

He tried to focus his vision. A concerned looking man in a white hat was looking down at him.

He tried to speak. “Jo…”

“J▇▉▆▉ke. Don█▉▆█▊█▆ste your energy.”

He felt safer in these arms. He felt his eyes droop. 

“█▉it. Sta█▉█wake. Don’t █▉▇▊█eyes.”

Josuke didn’t hear him. Everything was muffled. The last thing he heard was some incoherent mumbling before his world went dark. 

***

“Shit. Josuke. Josuke! ”

Rohan had to admit he felt guilty seeing Josuke breathing harshly in Jotaro’s arms. 

The boy looked like shit. He was shaking and covered in blood, staining the white coat which was wrapped around him. Not to mention that his hair, his pride and joy, was a mess, the signature pompadour almost non-existent. 

They clambered out of the cellar that they had found, approaching the two unconscious stand users. 

Rohan used Heaven’s Door to remove Cal’s ability to use his stand and searched their clothes. He found a tape in the shorter one’s pocket. 

“Do we-“

“No. The Speedwagon Foundation can watch it.” Jotaro answered. He didn’t seem to want to discuss the topic further. 

The older man used Star Platinum to call the foundation. Rohan noted how he seemed to be struggling to focus. 

“Yes. It’s me, Kujo Jotaro. Come to Yoshikage Kira’s old house, bring an ambulance.”

“Jotaro-san, are you-“

“I’m fine.” Jotaro said with finality. He didn’t sound fine at all. 

The Foundation barely took 10 minutes to arrive. Jotaro only seemed to be standing due to sheer willpower alone. He hadn’t even asked Rohan to help him with Josuke. 

An official walked up to them.

“Mr Kujo, we’ve got the ambulance, we are going to take Mr Higashikata directly to the hospital. What else do you need here?”

Jotaro nodded. The worker blinked, evidently confused. Rohan cut in. 

“-Take us to the hospital too.”

“Alright. Is Mr Kujo…”

“He was stabbed, and possibly drugged.”

The worker looked at the taller man in awe. 

“How is he even standing?”

“We don’t know. Just take us there.”

“Alright.”

The worker guided Jotaro to the ambulance, the older man hissing in pain when they touched his broken arm. 

“...arm’s broken.” He mumbled. 

The official looked perplexed, probably wondering how the marine biologist could carry an entire person with a broken arm. 

Josuke was lowered into a stretcher and hooked up to several machines. 

“We’ll perform a thorough examination when we arrive, but for now we want to make sure that his heartbeat is steady, at least.”

As they drove to the hospital, Rohan turned to Jotaro. 

“Is it necessarily bad that he passed out?”

“ Yare yare , he was drugged, remember? He might not wake up.” His voice was even quieter this time. 

Oh .

Rohan looked at the unconscious boy in the stretcher. He got up. “I need to do something.”

Jotaro looked up. He said nothing. 

“Heaven’s Door!”

Jotaro started. He probably would’ve fought back if he were in any state to do so, but he watched helplessly as pages spooled out of Josuke’s leg. Rohan produced a pen and wrote. 

I will sleep peacefully, and when I awaken, I will know that I am safe. 

It was probably the most he could do. His stand couldn’t affect physical changes, so he couldn’t un-break the teen’s bones or close his wounds, but he could prevent Josuke from having a full scale panic attack as of when he woke up. He might’ve been imagining it, but he could’ve sworn that the teen’s features relaxed in his sleep. 

He looked back at Jotaro. The older man seemed to be in a lot of pain, his teeth visibly clenched and his eyes hazy. 

“You know you could’ve told the doctors that you’re hurt, too.”

“...I’m fine. What did… you write in him?”

“That he’d have a peaceful rest. I didn’t read him, don’t worry.”

Jotaro dipped his head in a half-nod. He shut his eyes. 

“Jotaro-“

The older man blinked. 

“Wouldn’t it be better if you got some help too?”

“...Need to make sure he’s alright.”

“I can-“

Before he could finish, the vehicle pulled up to the hospital. Doctors entered, oblivious to Jotaro’s condition. Their focus was entirely on Josuke. 

One of them approached the two men. 

“What’s his blood type?”

Rohan blinked. “I-“

“B.” Came Jotaro’s reply. 

“How are you related to him?”

“Nephew.”

“Do you need medical attention as well?”

“It can wait-“

“He does.” Rohan interrupted. “He was stabbed twice.”

The doctor raised his eyebrow. 

“We’ll need to take a look at that, sir.”

“Mhm.”

“Can you stand?”

As Josuke was wheeled away, Jotaro tried to stand up. He stumbled and grabbed onto Rohan for support, nearly knocking the mangaka over. The doctor sighed. 

“We can get a wheelcha-“

“I’m fine .” He was clearly lying. It didn’t help that his voice was barely above a whisper. 

“Okay. But Mr Kujo, at least let your friend support you.”

Jotaro didn’t say anything, but Rohan could sense his defeat. He half dragged the older man while following the doctor into a hospital room. It was nearly empty, with just a bed in the centre and a chair in the corner. The doctor looked at Jotaro, gesturing to the bed. 

“I’m going to need you to lie down.”

Rohan began to feel like he was intruding on Jotaro’s business, so he asked the older man:

“Is...it alright if I leave?”

Jotaro nodded. 

Rohan left the room and wandered through the corridors in search of Josuke’s. He eventually found one where doctors were crowded around the door. He could hear their conversation. They sounded concerned. 

“What was in those knives?”

“A mixture of gamma hydroxybutyrate and ketamine. It’s dangerous, really, mixing two drugs like that.”

“Did you manage to-“

“We removed some of it, yes, but a large amount had already settled into his system. We will just have to wait for those to lose effect.”

“What about… everything else?”

“Two legs and an arm broken, his stitches from a couple weeks ago ripped, he has several stab wounds too. There was one on his head as well. We’ve had to operate for that one.”

“Is that it?”

Rohan felt sick, anticipating much worse. 

“No. He… his foot had its toenails removed.” 

What?

Rohan couldn’t listen to any more. 

That bad?

He shook his head, disturbed. 

No wonder… No wonder Jotaro was so serious about this. 

Just what was on that tape?

Rohan realised he didn’t want to know. 

Chapter Text

Jotaro opened his eyes. 

When had he closed them?

He found himself in the same hospital room from earlier. His arm was wrapped in a sling and he could feel bandages around the areas where the knives had been. 

He felt a lot better. It was barely hurting anymore, and that dizzy feeling had gone. 

Quite frankly, he didn’t really care about his own injuries. They weren’t very severe in his standards, and he had bigger problems to deal with. 

He got up, relieved to find he hadn’t been put into a hospital gown, nor had he been hooked up to anything. His shirt lay on a chair. He put it on along with his hat, having some difficulty because of the cast, and turned around in search of his jacket before remembering that he had given it to Josuke. 

Speaking of Josuke, where was he?

He thought that his uncle had died in his arms for a minute. He always feared being too late, and Josuke had been slowly dying. 

He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself. 

Jotaro shook off the thought. He walked briskly out of his room in search of his uncle’s. He bumped into a smaller figure as he was walking. 

“J-jotaro-san?”

“Koichi.”

“You’re awake?”

Jotaro frowned. “How long was I out?”

“Just...just a few hours.”

“Where’s the old man? And Josuke?”

“Down the corridor. But he’s-“

“Probably not awake.”

“How did you-“

“I saw him. Whatever he was given, it wasn’t good.”

“I- ok.”

Jotaro proceeded to enter his uncle’s room. His grandfather was huddled over the bed, running his hand through the boy’s hair. 

“Jiji.”

“Jotaro?”

“Yeah.” Jotaro pulled over a chair. “So you told Koichi.” 

“I had to. He was getting paranoid.” Joseph looked unnaturally shaken. 

“Did you tell his other friend, Okuyasu?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s Rohan?”

“He was pretty shaken. He’s at his house.”

“Oh.”

They sat in silence. Joseph was the first to speak after that. 

“I… I saw what they did.” He admitted. 

“Oh.”

“No one should ever have to go through that.”

Jotaro was silent. 

“He’s just a kid. Just a kid! Even younger than you when…” Joseph seemed to shake off the thought. “He’s been through too much. Especially for his age.”

More silence. 

“How long until he wakes up?”

“The doctors said it could take days, or weeks. But they’re not expecting it to be longer than a month.”

“Okay.”

 ***

To say that Koichi was worried was the understatement of the century.

Jotaro had refused to tell them what had happened to Josuke. Joseph had refused to tell them. Even Rohan , the boastful, nosey Kishibe Rohan refused to tell them. 

Okuyasu was also terrified, and rightly so. Who just disappears for a few days and comes back comatose and with three broken limbs?

Jotaro had apparently passed out while they were examining the stab wounds. The doctors said it was for the better that he did, since he would’ve been in a lot of pain otherwise. 

Josuke, on the other hand, had to be operated on. Koichi was glad that there was no permanent damage. 

Although they were being very lenient with their terms. His legs would probably take moths to heal, especially where his stitches had ripped. His scars could be bothersome for the rest of his days. 

Koichi was so lost in thought that he bumped into one of the doctors. Apologising profusely, he hurried to his friend’s room. There was no one there other than Jotaro, who was fast asleep on the chair in the corner, Joseph having gone back to the hotel. 

Josuke looked like a mess. His arm that wasn’t in a cast was wrapped in bandages nonetheless, with the needle of an IV bag stuck into his forearm, and he had another large bandage wrapped around his forehead. However, judging by what little of his face was visible behind the oxygen mask, he seemed completely at peace. Koichi didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

Do people show pain on their faces when they’re asleep?

He pondered this as he walked home. The next day, he visited with Okuyasu. The latter, having calmed down slightly but still evidently distressed, bringing chocolate for Josuke. The logical part of Koichi didn’t really understand the point, but his emotional side acknowledged the sentimental value.

Both Joseph and Jotaro were there this time. They sat, discussed, Jotaro still point-blank refusing to tell them anything about what happened to their friend. 

How bad could it have been?

As the days passed, Koichi saw that Joseph seemed to be visiting every day, making his way to Josuke’s bed and clutching on his son’s hand, with an expression on his face that could only be described as pain. It hurt for Koichi to watch, too. Josuke had never acknowledged Mr Joestar as his father, but the old man still treated their friend like family. 

Jotaro would be there too, although Koichi didn’t know whether it was by choice (he assumed it probably was). The marine biologist had been discharged within a few days. Koichi has found that he did have a caring side, and many people misunderstood that, calling him heartless. 

He hadn’t seen Rohan the entire time. He didn’t think the mangaka had even left his house . 

I should pay him a visit. 

Josuke was still asleep. Koichi was getting increasingly worried, although the doctors said that there was nothing to stress about. He had at least been taken off of most of the machines, and according to the staff, his condition was stable. That was all the reassurance he would’ve needed, had his head been straight. 

He had come to the conclusion that Rohan had used his stand on Josuke. It was either that or the work of one of the enemy stands. Even now, not a single hint of pain or distress was visible on the teen’s face. He was sure that wasn’t normal. 

He looked at his friend’s sleeping face again. 

Please, just please wake up. 

Chapter Text

The room was quiet. There were no sounds apart from the consistent beeping of the heart monitor, no movements apart from the gentle rising and falling of Josuke’s chest.

The boy looked so peaceful that he could’ve passed off for simply sleeping, if it weren’t for the several bandages that adorned his head and other various places, along with three of his limbs wrapped in casts. 

Rohan felt horrible. He felt sick, and above all, he felt guilty that he had taken this so lightly at first. 

He’s in an even worse condition than he was after he fought Kira. 

He had finally gathered the courage to just visit the boy. The truth was, he was scared that he would throw up in front of the others.  

Why though? You’ve literally seen someone’s head get crushed. 

He remembered the doctors’ conversation; he remembered Josuke, limp in Jotaro’s hold. 

Shut up. Don’t think about it. 

It was currently the dead of night. There was no one in the room, and Rohan had to sneak in with his stand. If anyone asked, they hadn’t seen Rohan Kishibe sneak into any rooms. He liked that his stand came in useful in these times. 

But he was glad he hadn’t read Josuke. 

Had he been in any other mindset at the time, he probably would’ve. And he would have probably thrown up there and then. He doubted that would be a good thing to do inside of an ambulance. 

At least Heaven’s Door seemed to be working on Josuke. The teen didn’t seem to be in any visible pain at the moment. 

He sat for a few hours, or minutes, he didn’t know, listening to the beeping of the heart monitor, until he saw light starting to peek through the window. That was his cue to leave. He didn’t want the others to see him like this. 

He felt as if he had probably been neglecting himself- not that he cared. His routine was still the same, draw manga, eat, sleep, research and draw more manga. However he found he couldn’t bring himself to eat; he found that he lay awake at nights, unable to sleep. For the first time, he didn’t feel like drawing manga, although he didn’t stop. But he felt his manga was declining in quality, and soon someone attentive like Koichi would pick that up. 

The next morning, he got an unexpected phone call. 

Who the fuck would call me, and at this time too?

“Hello?”

“Hello. It’s Jotaro.”

Oh. Of course. 

“Why are you calling me?”

“Where are you.”

“I- I’m at home, where else would I be?”

“Okay. Stay there. We’re coming.”

“Wait, wha-“  

A beep. 

What did I just get myself into?

***

Jotaro was kind of pissed, actually. 

He was driving to the mangaka’s house with the old man in the passenger seat. Koichi and Okuyasu wanted to stay with Josuke, which was understandable. 

God, Rohan was so dramatic. He couldn’t even show his face to be there and show support for his friend . 

If Rohan considered Josuke his friend, anyway. 

You’re being irrational. He might’ve seen something when he wrote in Josuke. 

He frowned. 

But he told me he hadn’t read anything. 

He broke off from his internal pondering to focus on the road. He would find out when he got there. 

As he pulled over to Rohan’s house, he realised the lights were off inside. 

Huh. That’s weird. But I doubt he’d have the time to run away. 

He stepped out of the car with the old man in tow, and knocked on the door. There was no answer. 

“Oi, Rohan.”

Joseph tilted his head. “Maybe he isn’t actually-“

“I know you’re in there.” It was obvious. The door was locked from the inside. 

Eventually, there was a click and the door slowly creaked open as Rohan’s face came into view. 

Jotaro was taken aback. He looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days . There were dark patches under his slightly bloodshot eyes, too. 

He hasn’t been sleeping?

Jotaro could relate. 

The mangaka sighed. 

“You should come in.”

They stepped inside. The floor was littered with scrunched up paper, and Jotaro caught a glimpse of the kitchen filled with half-eaten instant ramen pots. 

Rohan led them to his couch, knocking off the rubbish with a swipe of his arm. 

“You can sit here.”

He watched as Joseph cautiously sat. He opted to stay standing. 

“We need to talk.”

Rohan stiffened. “So we do.”

“Where the fuck have you been?”

“Jotaro-“

Joseph was interrupted by his grandson. 

“Stay out of this, jiji.”

“Then why did you ask me to come?”

“I-“

Rohan saved them from going down that line. “You came to ask me why I haven’t left my house?”

“Yes.”

“Well, for starters, you’re wrong.”

“What?”

“I left my house last night, in fact.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

Jotaro was not a man of many words. But his head was practically spilling with questions he wanted to ask. He resisted the urge to punch Rohan in the face and tell him to just answer the damn question . 

Joseph cut in. “He means he visited Josuke.”

“Yes, thank you!” Rohan’s voice was shaking slightly. Or is that just my imagination?  

He didn’t say anything, though. Just nodded his head stiffly. 

“So why are you so distant?” Joseph asked. 

Rohan visibly tensed up. 

The old man continued. “Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think you’re alright , Rohan. Because if you were, you would’ve just visited Josuke with us.”

“You don’t know what I heard.”

“What you heard? I watched it.” Joseph’s voice was soft. 

This was a surprise to Jotaro as well as Rohan. He rounded in on his grandfather. 

“You did what.”

“That’s why I didn’t tell you, Jotaro. I knew you’d-“

“That isn’t an excuse.”

Rohan looked confused. “You mean when Josuke-“

“Don’t say it, Rohan.”

He gulped. “Right. Sorry. You saw… that happen?”

“They sent us two tapes. Jiji, you probably know what’s on the third one.”

Joseph shuddered. “You watched it?”  

“No.”

“Good.”

Rohan looked around wildly. “How are you both still sane? You’re taking this so lightly!”

Jotaro was really mad now. 

“ We’re not-“

“Jotaro, shut up.” Joseph’s firm voice shocked them once again. 

“Jiji, what-“

“You heard me. Shut up. It’s reasonable for him to think that.”

“How is it-“

Joseph ignored him. “Rohan, we have experienced death before. I myself have come back from the dead before. Our friends and family have sacrificed themselves so that we could keep living. The same goes for Josuke. He’s alive , which is what matters most.”

“But he‘s not going to be in any state, mentally-“

Jotaro spoke up. “You used your stand on him.”

“That’s only for short term-“

“He’s not going to remember most of it anyway, he was concussed, and he was drugged.”

“Are you saying that’s a good thing?”

“No.”

“Are you going to elaborate?”

“No-“

“We’ll be there for him, will we not?” Joseph asked gently.  

Rohan sighed.

“Yes, I guess we will be.”

***

That afternoon, Rohan went with the others to visit Josuke. 

And he had to admit, it felt better. Like he had someone to turn to as well. 

Chapter Text

There was darkness, and then there was light. 

He had barely opened his eyes when he was met with something blinding , and a piercing pain shot through his forehead, causing him to screw them shut. 

He could hear soft murmurs around him, whether it was one voice or many, he couldn’t tell.  They suddenly died out as the bright light disappeared.

“Josuke.” A deep voice. It sounded vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t place it. 

He opened his eyes, but was only met with more darkness. 

“Can you hear me?”

Josuke couldn’t speak. He tried to get up but found that something was restraining his arm. 

But for some reason, he wasn’t in a panic. Everything felt calm to him, even though from an outsider's perspective it would’ve been the complete opposite. 

There was a flash of purple, and suddenly he was sitting up. He blinked, confused. He was sure that arms weren’t purple . 

Yet still he got the feeling that everything was fine. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and something crouched next to him, although he couldn’t tell who or what it was. 

“Do you remember what happened?”

“I-“ He broke off. He didn’t remember, although he felt like he should have. 

“It’s ok. Breathe.”

He took a breath. 

“Don’t speak if you don’t want to. Do you know where we are?”

He took a wild guess. “Home?” he choked out.

“No. You’re in the hospital.” The voice which he now recognised was strangely soft. 

“Jotaro-san?” Why was he saying this? He was safe, wasn’t he? He knew he didn’t have any need to, so why was he calling out to his nephew?

“Yes?”

“What…”

“Don’t worry about it. Rohan is getting a doctor.”

Why did he need a doctor? He was safe . 

“Don’t need…”

“Yes. You do. Should I switch the lights on or do you prefer it dark?”

“...dark.”

The comforting hand lifted from his shoulder, leaving him feeling strangely cold as the door opened. 

“Jotaro-san?” Another voice. 

“Rohan.”

“Is he-“

“He doesn’t remember.”

“Are you going to explain to him?”

“I think I should. You could always make him forget if he wants.”

“Hmm. Ok.”

He saw Jotaro crouch down again, as his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. 

“Do you want to know what happened?”

“...Yes.”

He listened as his nephew began to explain. However, he didn’t need to get very far. Jotaro had only told him that he was kidnapped when everything came back to him. 

Well as much as one could remember in that delirious state, anyway. 

Suddenly he didn’t feel very safe at all . Cal, the other guy, the knives . The thoughts of these things rushed through his head as he looked down to see his broken arm and legs wrapped in casts. He was vaguely aware of tubes poking out of his unbroken arm. 

“Hey. Josuke. Breathe.”

Was he not breathing? He inhaled some air, but it felt forced and wrong . 

You’re safe. 

“Yes. Good. Like that. Now breathe out.”

Exhaling was a much less painful task. 

You’re safe. 

“Do it again.”

They went through that cycle, until breathing came a lot easier to him. 

You’re safe. It only occurred to him now that the same thought was being replayed in his head. Huh. That’s weird. 

“Josuke?” The second voice asked. 

“Ro-Rohan.”

There was a pause. 

“Jotaro-san.”

“Yes, Josuke?”

“Where are they? Okuyasu and Koichi?”

“Sleeping, probably. Do you want me to call them?”

“It’s…alright. Don’t wanna disturb them.”

“You’re not disturbing- “ Josuke’s breath hitched at the sudden loud voice. 

“Speak quietly, Rohan.”

The hand returned to his shoulder. 

“Josuke. Are you still here?”

“...Yes.” Josuke replied with a shudder. 

“The doctor should be here soon.”

He nodded. 

***

It had taken a week and four days for Josuke to wake up. Yes, Jotaro had counted. It wasn’t like he had anything better to distract himself with.

He was worried. Josuke had looked so confused , so lost . He couldn’t see him like that. It was selfish of him, really, to seemingly force the boy to remember. 

He had never been the best at comforting anyone , yet he felt a strange closeness to his uncle. Maybe it was just that he and his friends reminded him of the Crusaders back in Egypt. He saw Polnareff’s goofy personality in Okuyasu, Kakyoin’s sharp wits in Koichi, and Avdol’s kindness in Josuke. 

Maybe it was just because Josuke felt more like a little brother to him than an uncle. 

He had used Star Platinum to keep watch on Josuke, and as soon as the teen’s eyes merely twitched, he had his full attention to his young uncle. He had immediately told Rohan to get a doctor. 

After an examination, the doctors told them that Josuke was fine, although his memories of the days he was missing were probably fuzzy. He walked back into the room to see Josuke sitting up, with that same lost expression on his face. 

“Guess my hair’s ruined, huh.” There was a sad smirk on the teen’s face. Jotaro didn’t even know that was a possible facial expression. He made a mental note of it. 

“Mmm.” He didn’t really know what to say. He remembered a few phone calls he made earlier. “I called your friends.”

“...Why?”

“They would’ve wanted to know. Rohan was technically right, you’re not disturbing them.”

“Oh. Okay, then.”

A pause. 

“Where is he… I mean Rohan?”

“I don’t know. Probably getting some fresh air, or something.”

“Those… guys?”

“We let the foundation take care of that. I don’t remotely care what happened to them.”

Another pause. After a long silence, Jotaro heard Josuke mutter something under his breath. It sounded vaguely along the lines of “Fucking useless.”

“Hey. You’re not-“

“I am, Jotaro-san. I’m supposed to be able to actually do shit. Maybe if I could...you wouldn’t have-“

He’s worried about me?

“That’s stupid. You don’t have to be there for everyone all the time.” That’s my job.

“But I do, Jotaro-san. My friends look up to me, but this has happened twice now. I couldn’t even summon my fucking stand this time. I’m pathetic .”

“The stand problem wasn't you.” Josuke looked up. “That was the other guy’s power. He disabled Star Platinum as well, and by that time you were in no condition to do anything.”

“I still could’ve-“

“If you tried, you would have probably died.”

Josuke sighed. “At least let me heal your-“

“No.”

“Why?”

“Don’t waste your energy. I’m fine. You need to rest.”

“That’s not-“

He was interrupted by the door bursting open. Okuyasu and Koichi ran into the room and threw themselves onto their friend. 

“Josuke!” Okuyasu was already sobbing. 

“Hey, Oku. You’re crushing me.”

Jotaro smiled to himself. That was his cue to leave. He walked out of the door, reminiscing his time with the Crusaders. 

***

Okuyasu was overjoyed .

He had hated being in the dark, because everyone always thought he was too stupid to understand what was going on. 

It was probably true, but that didn’t change the fact that he hated it. 

And now he saw that Josuke was, in fact, alright . He couldn’t help crushing him in a bear hug.

That was, until his friend started gasping for air. 

Okuyasu immediately leapt back. “Josuke, you alright?”

“Does he look alright, Okuyasu?” Koichi asked. 

Well, oops. I hope I didn’t kill him. 

Koichi turned back to Josuke, who was no longer choking. 

“Josuke, I’m glad you’re awake. Your mother was worried sick.”

“Aw, shit. What did mom say?”

“I used Echoes to mimic your voice but that didn’t stop her from being suspicious, because she couldn’t see your face.”

“She’s probably seen through it.”

“She trusts you. But I don’t know what you’ll tell her when…”

The mood in the room instantly darkened. 

“How...how long has it even been?”

“Did Jotaro-san not tell you?” Koichi looked concerned. 

“Never crossed my mind to ask.”

“A week and a half.”

“...oh.”

A pause. 

“And… what’s up with Rohan?”

“Oh. He went with Jotaro. He wasn’t expecting it to be that bad.”

“...right.”

“He was shaken. We all were.”

“Yeah...”

Okuyasu cut in. “Jotaro-san didn’t tell us- like- anything, man! Where the hell have you been?”

“He didn’t…”

Josuke looked down. A shadow seemed to cast over his face. 

“I don’t really remember everything. But there were these two people . And they…”

“Hey. Josuke, you don’t need to.”

Koichi sent a reproachful look in Okuyasu’s direction. 

Whoops. 

“Hey… how ‘bout when you get out, we’ll all go to Tonio’s together again?”

“That’s a great idea, Oku.” Josuke’s face instantly brightened. 

Okuyasu didn’t know how long they sat there, talking, but he didn’t really care. It felt… nice. Josuke was there , in front of them. Not kidnapped, or dead. 

The next day, Josuke didn’t go to school with them. But the feeling that their friend was safe stayed, and reassured them. 

And eventually when Josuke was allowed out of the hospital, he was still the same Josuke. The same warm heart, the same bright personality. Even if he was stuck using a wheelchair and crutches for a while. 

Okuyasu smiled to himself. He knew he wasn’t smart or anything, but he was pretty sure Josuke would be fine. And he was glad of it.