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It all started with that one phone call from Lisa Lisa, a week, or maybe two, after he had 'killed' Kars.
"Jojo, there's a phone call for you!" Joseph heard Suzie Q's voice from the other room, making him turn his head from his spot on the couch. His mind drifted to who it could be as he stood up.
"Huh, who's it from?" Joseph practically yelled back.
"It's from Lisa Lisa." His eyebrows furrowed at the answer from Suzie. Joseph furrowed his eyebrows at her answer. What did his mom want? (Yup, still felt weird to call her mom.) Joseph entered the room Suzie had called from.
"About?"
Suzie looked away hesitantly then back at him, realizing she should just let Lisa Lisa tell him the news. "It'd be better if Lisa Lisa told you."
"Alllright-" Joseph looked at her suspiciously, taking the home phone from her grasp. As soon as he put the phone to his ear, Suzie left the room to let him be alone. No doubt he'd probably want to be alone after he's told the news.
He watched her leave as he answered the phone in his usual manner. "Joseph Joestar here! What's up?"
Lisa Lisa was quick to respond. "I have some news for you."
"Okay, throw it at me."
"Caesar's alive."
"Oh, it's just-" Joseph paused in bewilderment. He had had a response ready before she had even said something, but he wasn't expecting..............
"Aha, that's a bad joke Lisa Lisa!" he laughed, waving it off almost immediately. His voice cracked at the end of his sentence, so he continued laughing to hide it.
"Jojo."
"Seriously, you shouldn't joke about things like that."
"Jojo, do you seriously think I would joke about something like this?"
Joseph wavered at Lisa Lisa's reply, his laughter stopping. He bit his lip, going silent before letting out a distressed sigh. "N-no, no I don't." He replied, placing his hand over his mouth ever so slightly.
"But there's also......"
Joseph uncovered his mouth and glanced at the phone, as if he was actually talking to Lisa Lisa, and not just over the phone. "But? What 'but' could there be!?" His heart raced at the thought of what could of happened to Caesar. Of course he was overjoyed, if in disbelief, at the fact that Caesar's alive. But if there were complications, well........
"It would probably be better if you experienced it yourself."
Joseph frowned, not liking being kept in the dark about something. Especially when it pertained to something so important like Caesar. "Why can't you just tell me here now, huh?"
"Actually, now that I think about it more, its very important that you experience it yourself. Caesar's staying at a hospital right now, since they still have to monitor his brain."
"Here's the address of the hospital. Make sure to come soon." Lisa Lisa added, telling him the address.
"...Can I ask how long he's been in the hospital?" Joseph added after second-thought.
"About a week, why?" Joseph paused in surprise. Why was he learning this so late then, exactly?
"I know what you're thinking. There's a reason why you hadn't been informed earlier, but I can't tell you right now." Joseph frowned, but quickly nodded afterwards. "Alright, i'll be there in a bit." He let out a sigh, ending the call and setting the home phone down.
This was all too much. He thought to himself as he stood still for a few seconds. Caesar was alive all of a sudden, and right after he had accepted that he wouldn't be able to see Caesar's smile anymore. It wasn't fair, what the hell.
Suzie walked into the room after she realized Joseph had finished the call.
"Did she tell you....?"
Joseph turned his head, the second time today he realized, at Suzie's voice. "Lisa Lisa told me Caesar's alive, but......"
"But?" Suzie's face saddened, wondering if Lisa Lisa had told him that-
"That there was something else? She didn't tell me what, just that I had to experience it myself. She gave me an address for a hospital too."
"Oh." Suzie resisted the urge to let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't told her yet.
"So i'm going to visit the hospital, I guess. Do you wanna come with?"
Suzie shook her head at Joseph's question. "Lisa Lisa's there I think, I don't think i need to come with." Joseph glanced at her in surprise. Usually, she always wanted to come with. "Alright, suit yourself." He muttered. "Call me later after you see Caesar though, okay?" Joseph nodded, exiting the room with Suzie following after.
"I'll see you in like...... an hour." Suzie nodded, handing Joseph the scarf he used to wear all the time. Joseph looked at her weirdly before realizing why she handed it to him.
Of course he had to wear it to see Caesar after so long. "I'll see you later Suzie." Suzie nodded as he opened the door and left, shutting it behind him.
----
The car ride to the hospital felt endless. Thinking about seeing Caesar again had his heart doing flips. Joseph wasn't even sure if he would be able to keep it together and NOT cry when he saw Caesar. He definitely didn't want to cry in front of Caesar as their first greeting in so long.
He let out a small sigh, stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind him. He locked the door, sticking his keys in the pocket of his pants before making a jog towards the hospital.
He pushed the door open, being greeted with a somewhat dreary atmosphere that all hospitals had. Maybe a few feet ahead of him was the reception disk. A blonde (how ironic) woman was sitting in a somewhat comfortable office chair, clicking away at the computer in front of her.
"Excuse me." He said, walking up to the reception desk. The blonde looked up from her computer, pausing in her clicking. "Can I help you?" She asked in a bitter voice.
Wow, this girl obviously did not like her job.
"I'm here for Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli." He paused. "I'm a friend."
"Hold on a minute." The woman's attention turned back to the computer as she lowered a window. (Oh, she had been playing solitaire) Typing a few words, she found the room he was in.
"Room 312. Go up a floor then turn left as soon as you get the chance. The room should be in that hall." Joseph grinned, an obligatory one, in thanks. "Thank you, miss." He waved to her as he headed to the staircase up. The woman only rolled her eyes before going back to her solitaire.
It took a good few minutes, but he arrived in front of the room that was Caesar was in.
'Room 312. Caesar Anthonio Zeppeli.'
Joseph stared at the plaque glued next to the door. He took a deep breath, trying to prepare himself. God, was he really ready for this? To see Caesar's face again?
He bit his lip before grabbing the handle and turning it. The door clicked open, almost surprising him for some reason. Instead of Caesar's face, he was greeted by Lisa Lisa.
For some reason he let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh, Lisa Lisa." Joseph muttered.
"I'll let you see Caesar, but...." Lisa Lisa paused.
God, what was it with her and 'buts' today!
"Well, i'll be outside for a bit. After you see him, i'll inform you more on what happened." Joseph nodded, gulping nervously against his own will. Lisa Lisa moved out of the way, exiting the room. He glanced back, unsure if he really was ready for this.
He sucked in a breath, stepping forward to see Caesar in full view.
He could of sworn his heart stopped for a full minute there.
Caesar looked just like Joseph had remembered. The same blonde hair, although a bit more tousled then usual. The piercing light green eyes and Italian features that stuck out like a sore thumb. Hell, even the birthmarks under his eyes were still the same light purple that contrasted against his pale skin nicely.
"C-Caesar........" Joseph muttered in disbelief. This felt like a dream. It hardly even came close to feeling real, actually. Caesar looked at him in confusion, but he ignored the look that the blonde gave him.
Caesar was alive and well! Joseph's fists clenched at the outcome, before running up to the man and giving him the tightest hug possible. "I missed you Caesar!"
"What the hell! Get off me!" Joseph blinked at Caesar's response. If he remembered correctly, he always just gave a reluctant sigh or told him off with a few words before letting him off. Maybe it was just the disbelief of seeing Joseph after a whole week and being in a near-death situation.
Yeah, he decided to go with that.
Until he was literally pushed back by Caesar. Joseph stumbled back in surprise, barely managing to keep his footing and not fall on his ass.
"Yo, you okay there Caesar-chan?" Joseph chuckled nervously at how Caesar responded to his hug. Normally he was suppose to hug back.
"Who the hell are you?"
Joseph paused in his actions. "What?" He managed to get out in disbelief.
"I said who the hell are you?"
His fists clenched and unclenched. No way. Was this what Lisa Lisa was talking about? "Haha! Caesar, your jokes are as bad as ever!" He laughed, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence with a sense of deja vu.
"You remember me right? Joseph Joestar! The guy that you trained with in Hamon and defeated the pillar men with! You know!" He stared speaking out of desperation, imitating the situations with wild hand gestures like he always did.
"I think I would remember you with a name like that, but I don't."
Joseph sat in complete silence, his arms having stopped mid gesture. "Caesar, you really dont............."
"How do you even know my name in the first place?" Caesar replied almost immediately.
...
"Hm, I see." he nodded, trying to keep calm. Caesar looked at Joseph with a worried look on his face, surprising himself actually.
"Well, I have to go talk to someone first, just wait a bit, okay?" Caesar raised an eyebrow, watching Joseph leave the room. He waited for a mere second, before going back to the book he had been reading before the brunette had rudely interrupted him.
-----
"Is this what you were talking about Lisa Lisa?" Joseph uncharacteristically scowled. Lisa Lisa wasn't surprised, Joseph was only human in a situation like this.
"That's right." She replied surprisingly reluctantly. "Even though Caesar is alive, well, he didn't come out unscathed. In fact, it's actually a miracle that he survived."
Oh hell, Joseph knew it was a miracle. He remembered when he saw the blood of Caesar and immediately assumed he was dead. Anyway would. Joseph stayed silent, continuing to listen to Lisa Lisa.
"Caesar has amnesia but........ it's a weird case. Apparently none of the doctors have seen amnesia like this." Joseph waited with baited breath. "Part of the temporal lobe of his brain was damaged, as to be expected, but none of the others were. Because of it, Caesar has permanent memory loss."
Joseph bit his lip at her words.
"None of the people that work here know how to do brain surgery well enough to fix the temporal lobe and give him his memories back. But...." Lisa Lisa paused. "It's not like normal amnesia. There's only a certain period of time that he forgets. Everything else he remembers."
"The only period of time Caesar doesn't remember is the time spent with you. He doesn't even remember meeting you, Jojo."
"What?"
"He remembers me, his hamon training without you, and even knows briefly who Suzie Q is, but........... He has no idea who you are."
Joseph stared blankly at his mother who had a sullen look on her face. While he had been desperately wishing this was real earlier, here he was wishing it was all just a cruel nightmare.
"What the hell kind of bullshit is that! He remembers you but he doesn't remember me!?" Joseph shouted, stepping forward as if he were challenging Lisa Lisa. Lisa Lisa was unflinching, understanding Joseph's conflict.
Joseph stomped off after his shouts, walking down the hall in anger. Lisa Lisa watched him go with a solemn look on her face. He would let him be alone for a little while. He at least deserved it. She'd have to tell him that last detail later.
"What the hell........" Joseph muttered as he walked down the hall. He stopped abruptly, squatting and placing his hands over his head.
"This isn't fair." He muttered, tears welling up in his eyes. He was surprised he had held his tears in for long. He desperately felt like crying the whole time he was listening to Lisa Lisa. He could deal with Caesar's amnesia, but god was too cruel! Why was it only himself that Caesar didn't remember? Why couldn't it be everyone else too!?
He paused in his thoughts before hitting himself. That was too selfish of a thought. He should be glad that Caesar at least remembered something. Joseph let out a sigh, wiping the tears his eyes with one hand.
"I need to get my fucking act together." He cursed subconsciously, a habit he had developed that had him cursing whenever he was stressed or sad. Joseph stood up again, brushing off non-existent dust. His hands moved to his scarf, fixing it and walking back towards Caesar's hospital room.
He would just have to deal with this properly.
Lisa Lisa stood up from the wall in the distance, noticing Joseph was back.
"Are you okay Jojo?" She asked as soon as he was nearer to her. He let out a sigh and nodded. "Yeah. I think i'll manage." He replied, somewhat solemnly.
"Well, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you, but I thought you needed alone time first before I told you." Joseph raised an eyebrow.
"Caesar does have a chance to get his memory of you back." Joseph's eyes widened at the news. "But-" And he sagged at the but of her sentence. "He could die if he does remember you." Joseph laughed. That's all he knew how to do right now.
"Karma really has come back to bite me in the ass." He stopped laughing, instead letting out a pained sigh. "Damn."
"He won't remember though. There's a very very low chance that he ever would. Less then one percent, actually. So, you can still talk to him. You can reintroduce yourself to him and befriend him again. It just........... won't be the same." Joseph nodded. "Well, i'll guess i'll introduce myself then." Lisa Lisa watched his back as he headed back into Caesar's room.
She couldn't imagine how he felt right now.
----
Caesar looked up when he heard the door open. Was that weird Joseph guy back? His thoughts were confirmed when the brunette came into view.
"Hey, so-" Caesar heard the door shut behind the brunette, so he decided to put his book down. He'd probably be here a while.
"Lisa Lisa told me what happened." Joseph paused in hesitation, realizing that he probably doesn't know how he almost died.
"You know master?" Joseph chuckled at Caesar's bewildered expression. "Ah yeah, you could say i'm a............. friend." He didn't want to exactly surprise the man to death by saying he was her son.
"So, I wanted to introduce myself properly. Sorry for that scare that I gave you back. I thought you were someone else." Joseph lied through his teeth. He wanted to avoid any chances of Caesar remembering him if it meant the blonde could die from it.
"Uh-huh.........." Caesar wasn't exactly convinced.
"I'm Joseph Joestar. Most people just call me Jojo though. I know how to do all that hamon stuff that you do....... just not the bubble junk." Joseph introduced himself like he said he would.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Caesar-chan!" Joseph grinned, placing his hands on his hips.
"...Why do you keep calling me Caesar-chan? That's kind of creepy." Caesar gave him a weird look, and Joseph hesitated. "Ah, sorry, I called in old friend that and it became a habit. You have the same name so I just, you know." Joseph lied again.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, I guess." Caesar replied with obvious hesitance. Joseph's grin widened in response. "So then." Joseph took a folding chair from the side and set it up next to his bed.
"So I might as well tell you about myself, huh?"
----
Joseph Joestar could deal with this. He could become friends with Caesar again. They had become such good friends those last few weeks, so it was obviously going to be easy here too.
Although in the back of his heart, Joseph Joestar wished that Caesar had just stayed dead so he wouldn't have to deal with the heartbreak.