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Joseph shoved his hand into his jacket pocket, the early spring season still not being warm enough to have him let it be exposed. Despite being raised in Britain, he had never gotten used to it – summer and the heat were optimal for him. Nevermind that, though. He'd soon be able to get out of the cold. It turned out that Erina and Speedwagon, as well as Smokey and some others were at a funeral. He had made it up in his mind to go crash it.
Because, really, didn't he take more priority? He was the Joseph Joestar, their precious Joseph. Wouldn't they be dying to see him after he almost died saving the world from the Ultimate Lifeform? They hadn't bothered to see him at all! Not even when he was recovering...
...He couldn't remember. Clearly he'd been patched up by someone. The clean stump where his left hand should've been showed that. As well as the fact that he was still alive. That too. But...who? There was a complete gap in his memories.
One moment, he was floating in the freezing sea right after sending Kars into space. That was something he could remember in perfect clarity. The way he'd felt so tired, the throbbing pain in his severed arm and the burning in his melted knee turning his brain into mush. The icy chill of the sea piercing his very core, wrapping around him like a deathly blanket. His ability to stay conscious had slipped out of his fingers like sand.
And then. Here he was, in New York like how he had been before everything had kicked off. How perplexing. Joseph thought back a little more. When the volcano had erupted, it sent the piece of stone he was on flying. At that speed the force slammed his whole body onto it at full force, and he'd hit his head on the stone. The memory of hearing the crunch of his skull and having his vision swim left him feeling ill. That was severe. It would cause memory problems. Joseph had just simply forgotten. Nothing was wrong (outside his memory, at least). After reuniting with his friends and family, he'd be sure to have his head checked out. If he remembered to, at least. Not wanting to miss the funeral, he hurried on.
The graveyard was empty, save for the small gathering. Even the headstones were few, spaced out. Joseph expected more people to be there. Weren't all the people who cared about you meant to go to your funeral? This person must've had essentially no friends or family to have a funeral this small.
Now that he thought about it, why were Speedwagon and Erina and Smokey – oh, and Lisa Lisa, Suzi and Loggins, he could see them as part of the tiny crowd – here? He couldn't think of a single person that whose death would cause them all to come. Surely Speedwagon or Erina would have mentioned them once to him? Joseph had many questions rattling around his head. Just whose funeral did the deem more important than him, why they didn't greet him into New York in the first place...Soon he'd be able to demand his answers.
"So," He began once he had reached the group, "Happy to finally see me?"
No response.
"Because you haven't made an effort to make contact with me at all since I beat Kars. This is your first time seeing me in months. Because you all care about me so much, I thought you'd be over the moon to see that I'm alive." Shorter, closer to the point. Seeking out some sort of response.
Nobody even batted an eye to him. Joseph's feelings writhed inside of him. Anger, hurt, confusion; He didn't know which one was taking the lead, which one should.
Why was everyone ignoring him? Was it something he did? Had he somehow pissed them off, causing the silent treatment? Even then, wouldn't they at least acknowledge him?
Ah. The funeral.
They probably weren't replying because of the funeral. Paying respects and grieving and all that. That made sense. Joseph wouldn't mind waiting for them to finish something important such as this.
That being said, who was this funeral for anyways? Thankfully that was a question he didn't have to ask anyone. The answer he was looking for would be perfectly carved into the headstone. He peered over Erina's shoulder, taking care not to disturb her.
That was his name.
His name was on the headstone, along with the year of his birth and the year of his "death".
"Huh? W-what?" Joseph started, ignoring the growing feeling that something was very wrong. "But I'm not..."
Joseph desperately tried to snag someone's attention. "What sort of sick joke is this!? I'm not dead, I'm right here!" He placed his hand on Erina's shoulder.
It passed right through.
Joseph stopped. Tentatively, he tried to place his hand on her only for it to phase through again.
"Are you sure that you couldn't find his body at all, Speedwagon? Not a trace?" Erina quietly asked. Joseph felt ill. Everything had slotted into place in his mind. He really had died in the sea, those few months ago. His body probably sunk down into the murky depths to be mere fish food. Even if Speedwagon had found his body, at this point there probably wouldn't be much left to recover.
"If I believed I could find something from him, anything at all, the funeral would've stayed postponed. I hate the idea of having his grave be empty as much as you do." Speedwagon sighed. "JoJo was always so selfless when the time called for it, just like Jonathan. And now that's caused him to be ripped away from life at such an early age too..."
"...Sorry." Joseph apologised to nobody in particular. It wasn't like anyone could hear it. Knowing people would be sad if he were to die was one thing. Standing there as a ghost watching everyone lament over him was another.
"I can only hope his end was painless." It really wasn't. The conversation trailed off there. Not much to talk about.
"I guess being brought here is probably the world's way of giving me a proper departure with no loose ends. I'll probably go back to...wherever I came from once this is over with." Joseph mused out loud. "Might as well say what I never got to say to everyone, then."
He'd leave closest for last. So Loggins and Lisa Lisa first.
"...Well, I got the job done." Joseph started. "Your training was brutal, but it got me through. My bloodline has been avenged, Caesar's too. The Pillar Men are gone. The world's safe because of me. And that couldn't have happened without you two."
Ah, he couldn't forget the others that had died as well. "Caesar and Messina too, of course. So, thanks for that."
The grey clouds above rumbled. A thunderstorm was on its way – what fitting weather for the situation's mood. "...Don't blame yourselves for my death though. I'm a Joestar. It was my fate to die there. I know you can't hear me, but promise me that, okay?" The guilt weighing down on him lifted, if only by a little.
Suzi deserved to have a one-on-one. Even if their relationship didn't have the time to go that far, she was still dear to him. He moved to stand by her. She held her coat around her tightly; In this weather, he couldn't blame her. The cold was getting to even him, and he was already dead!
He wished he could do something to help. If he was alive, he'd wrap his arms around her, shielding her from the cold. She was right there, he was right there, and yet it was as if they were miles apart. No matter what he did, he'd never be able to touch her again: Kissing, hugging, even things just like holding hands was completely out of their reach. Joseph felt empty at the thought.
"I promised you that I'd return to you." He fiddled with his shirt, pulling at a loose string. "And no, I'm not going to make a silly joke about returning to you from the grave. I don't think any joke I make is going to lighten the mood for me at this point. Sorry for not keeping my promise. I tried to, I really did."
Joseph thought back to the last time they saw each other. The two didn't even manage to have a proper goodbye, with him and the others in such a rush to pursue the Red Stone. If only they had more time. He would've given her a proper heartfelt goodbye like she deserved.
"I wanted to marry you. Still do. I- uh, had this whole idea planned out in my head for it. I would've taken you out somewhere really special, maybe a restaurant we both liked. Or to the cinema. They've been making a lot of developments in it, it's come so far in such a short amount of time. I'm sure you'd love that. I'd do anything you'd be happy to do, really. And after I made sure you had a great evening, I'd take you somewhere more private, a place where it's just us two." Joseph didn't see the appeal to proposing in public. Who would want strangers looking in on such a special and personal moment? "And despite what people say, I don't understand what's so good about getting a diamond ring. It's colourless! How boring is that! I definitely wouldn't get you one of those. I think something like a sapphire would fit you better. It goes with your eyes."
Joseph buried his face in his hands. Or, well, tried to do it with his remaining hand. "Oh my God! I sound just like Caesar! I'm such a hypocrite! If I ever get to see him again – in the afterlife or something if there is one – he's never gonna let me live that down!"
Joseph quickly got over himself. If he really was here to say his goodbyes at his funeral, then he was running on limited time. Everyone would leave here eventually. He couldn't waste time on unnecessary things like that.
"Now that I'm gone, you better find someone just as good as me – don't settle for less! You better go and have a happy life, even if I'm not there!" Joseph hesitated to move on. Eventually, he dragged his feet to Smokey. The guy had grown a noticeable amount since Joseph had last seen him (...how long had it been between his death and now?). If his growth spurt continued, he might grow up to be as tall as Joseph was.
Smokey spoke before Joseph managed to get a word out. "I don't think I could ever thank Joseph enough for what he's done for me. My life wouldn't be the way it is now if not for him. I'd...be in jail by now, probably."
"You two were very close, weren't you?" Erina replied.
"Yeah. I dunno what he saw in me, but he stuck to me like glue almost instantly. He was one of the best friends anyone could have had."
"Aw, thanks...You were my first proper friend, you know? Never really managed to keep friends for long. If I'm honest, I wasn't sure if I was doing the whole friend thing well. Happy I at least managed to get that right."
Small droplets began to fall. Everyone would leave soon due to the weather, he was sure. Joseph had a lot less time than he thought.
"You've got a lot of potential, Smokey. I bet you're going to do great things when you get older. I'll be cheering you on from the other side! And if there isn't an 'other side', then I'll find a way. If I could beat Kars, I can definitely do that!"
The last two to address were...Speedwagon and Erina. Every time Joseph tried to say something the words died in his throat. What was there to say? He was the last in the Joestar lineage, and he had gone and died to the same force that killed his grandfather. His bloodline, wiped out just like that. Erina and Speedwagon were already so wounded from the loss of Jonathan, and then Joseph's father. And then he came along and made everything worse. If their lives hadn't been ruined before, they certainly would be now. They couldn't even hear him. Any apologies made would fall on deaf ears.
The rain picked up during the time it was taking Joseph to think of something, anything. Lisa Lisa and Loggins had left soon enough, with Suzi eventually tearing herself away from the gravestone to leave too. Smokey, Speedwagon, and Erina remained.
"We really should leave, Erina." Speedwagon said. "You're going to catch cold if you stay out in this weather."
"Not yet." Slowly, compensating for her frail body, she sat beside his gravestone. "I want to stay with him. Just a little longer."
"No, you should..." Joseph let out a sigh. He couldn't blame her for not wanting to leave. He had left at such short notice, with barely a proper goodbye, never to return. Hitting her where she was at her weakest. "I don't want you to get into a worse state because of me..."
"I'll go get you something warm to drink then. There's a nice café near here that does some great coffee!"
"Thank you, Smokey. I'd appreciate that." Smokey took off, breaking out into a light jog as he left. Erina gestured next to her. "Come on, Speedwagon. Sit down beside me."
"The mud–"
"Your suit can be cleaned." She stated.
"I suppose it can." Speedwagon sat beside her. Joseph did too; Even if they couldn't see him, it felt wrong to stand over them.
Silence.
Joseph was still at a loss for words. The two were old. They'd die sooner than the others would. They wouldn't be able to let time heal their grief (if that was even possible, given their backstories on the stone mask). Their last years of life would be filled with grief and sadness. Because of him. His fault.
"I remember, back when he was only a child, he used to love sitting in my rocking chair with me." Erina started. "He'd never admit that to anyone else though, it was just a thing between me and him. Said he was 'too old' for those sorts of things, that it was a thing that babies did."
Joseph clutched his head with his hand in despair. "Aaaugh! Do you really have to bring that up?! I did it for such a long time! It's embarrassing!"
Of course oblivious to his words, she continued. "Almost every night, he'd come sit on my lap complaining that he couldn't get to sleep. And then he'd curl up and snuggle into me as I'd knit away at a project of mine. He always fell asleep soon after. I don't think he realised it, but after Jonathan's death I've felt perpetually lonely. And he helped me with that. Sitting there with him asleep as I knitted away brought me as much contentment as having Jonathan by my side. JoJo was such a great comfort in my life, Speedwagon. I hope he knew that."
"I hope he did too. Watching him grow up...it brought more joy to my life than anything else."
"...hm." This was certainly not the crying and sad discussion of his demise he was expecting.
The two kept on reminiscing about their memories with Joseph. The good, the bad, the horrible, the great, the whole lot. All of them were regarded with fondness.
He still couldn't think of anything to say. They were saying things typical for when someone you care about dies. What was typical for this? Joseph had no regrets, other than dying on them.
"...I'll be sure to apologise when you both pass on too. It's...the only thing I can think of doing, really." He told them. "Wish I had more to say to you two. Haven't exactly got any loose ends the way I did with everyone else."
Smokey returned, with two drinks in his hands. "I thought that you might appreciate having a coffee too, Speedwagon."
"Cheers, Smokey." After handing them both their drinks, he sat down beside them. Unaware Joseph was sitting there, of course. Joseph quickly moved out of the way. Being partially phased into one of them didn't sound too pleasant, and space around the grave itself was growing small. He opted to sit in front of them instead.
...On top of his own grave. How sweet. Erina and Speedwagon kept talking about him, with Smokey joining in too.
It felt nice, to hear all they had to say. Being loved by them was an obvious fact. They wouldn't have stuck around or worried about him if not. But how often does the everyday person tell their loved ones that they love them? Outside of saying goodbye and the likes? Outside of the simple phrase? From what he'd seen, it was never. At the least, very unlikely. Especially not in this detail. Especially not wholly, with the negatives lovingly included too. It...
Joseph breathed out, wiping away the tears forming in his eyes. "Jeez, I dunno why I'm gonna cry. You're the ones that are meant to be emotional here!" He wouldn't cry, for their sakes. They'd hate it if they ever found out that they made him cry at his own funeral. The chances were slim to none; He held it in, just in case.
Time, unstoppable as ever, passed. The rain still came down heavy. By the time Erina, Speedwagon and Smokey had said all they could say, they were completely soaked through. Their clothes clung onto their bodies for dear life. Those would definitely need to be wrung out. If that's how drying extremely soaked clothes worked, at least. With Erina being rich, Joseph never had the chance to learn skills like that; Someone else usually did it for him.
How, exactly, would he go? Joseph didn't remember appearing here, nor did he remember how he got the information on where his funeral was taking place. Would he simply pop back out of existence, if he did suddenly pop in to start? That didn't sound too fun. Slowly fading away sounded better. Calmer. It would probably feel like something along the lines of falling asleep peacefully.
They were making plans to leave. "Once it starts getting warmer, I'll come back and give his grave some flowers. It'll look lovely when they're in bloom." Erina said.
"Oh, you gonna use some of the flowers from your garden?" One of Erina's favourite things to do was tend to her garden. She had a specific section of it saved for an array of flora. It left the place looking bright and colourful during the summer season. Joseph wasn't the best at tending to plants, but he had helped out where he could.
"Yes. In my old age though, it's become quite hard to maintain it, with its size. Would you mind helping, if it's not too much trouble?"
"Of course I'll help! You've been so kind to me. I can't not repay it!"
"You know what? I'll try see if I can reduce my workload – I've been meaning to look for someone that can take my place at the Foundation, anyways. I'll help out too."
The three walked away happily in the rain, chatting to each other about their plans for the future. Joseph smiled. Out of everyone here, he was expecting them to be the most upset. To cry, even. They'd certainly subverted his expectations. Not that he minded. They had each other. They'd be able to move on and be happy. That's all he wanted, really.
Joseph passed on, content.