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━ ☆ 𝙂𝙮𝙧𝙤 𝙕𝙚𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙡𝙞 𝙭 𝙅𝙤𝙝𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧
𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳: @Suutoki (Wattpad/AO3)
𝘛𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨: Harassment and injuries
𝘈𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘦: JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken
The trees around him seemed to mock his misfortune, as if they were mischievous witnesses to his plight. Their leaves whispered to one another, and their branches swayed in mocking gestures, giving the impression of faces sneering shamelessly. One of them, bolder than the rest, shook as if letting out a loud, mocking laugh. Johnny Joestar frowned and looked away, bewildered.
—What...? —he murmured, unable to believe what his eyes were seeing.
He barely had time to react, as his attention remained fixed on the grotesque figures of the trees. Without taking his eyes off them, he moved cautiously, only to stumble awkwardly over a root. He could have sworn that the root had risen from the ground with the sole purpose of blocking his way, as if it was determined to make his life difficult.
Instinctively, he curled up on himself, hugging his knees with both hands, now bloodied and scraped. A soft groan of pain escaped his lips as he silently cursed the foolishness of following that damn rabbit.
—Watch where you're going —teased a playful voice, laced with a hint of mockery. Johnny's first instinct was to glance up at the trees, convinced that one of those strange creatures was mocking him again—. One of these days, you're going to crack your skull.
Johnny warily scanned the thick treetops until, finally, his eyes landed on the figure of a peculiar individual, comfortably perched on a branch.
He had golden hair, though perhaps a shade darker than his own, long and tousled, falling in disordered cascades that partially hid a pair of pointed ears, very much like his cat Tusk's. He sported something resembling whiskers on his cheeks, along with a strange beard trim. His eyes, however, were even more unsettling; slit pupils gleaming in a vivid emerald hue.
The stranger flashed a wide smile, revealing sharp incisors that seemed more designed for tearing than for grinning. There was no doubt about it: this guy was thoroughly enjoying the scene.
The stranger's green eyes locked onto Johnny, who was still on the ground. His skin, unusually clean and pale, seemed hypersensitive to even the slightest touch, as if any contact would leave traces of irritation. Embarrassed by the intensity of the gaze, Johnny tried to pull his shoulders closer, feeling the discomfort of being watched like a caged animal.
The stranger's smile, so wide and confident, suddenly faded, leaving an eerie emptiness in the air that sent an involuntary shiver down the young man's spine. Without warning, the figure vanished from his line of sight, immediately alerting him. He quickly spun around in every direction, searching for the being who had been mocking him from atop the branch moments before. But there was no trace.
Deep in his mind, Johnny still refused to accept that any of this was real. It was almost impossible for him to conceive of a fantastical world when, for his entire life, he had been taught that such things only existed in the fantasies of the naive. He had always been a boy with a vivid imagination, but he never imagined that same creativity would trap him in a strange dream—one where the treetops glowed in odd hues and the animals were not what they should be.
Suddenly, a weight pressed down on him, crushing him against the dirt path and stealing his breath. The strange feline, with disorienting speed, positioned itself between his legs, pinning him in place before he could react. In the blink of an eye, his arms were pressed against the ground, trapped at his sides, leaving him completely cornered with no escape.
—How did you get here? —the stranger asked, his voice a soft whisper, yet filled with curiosity. As he spoke, he flicked his long, wavy tail rapidly, the tip brushing the air with each movement.
—I-I... —The words tangled in Johnny’s throat. What was he supposed to say? It was too embarrassing to admit that, at his age, he had been chasing a rabbit instead of dedicating his time to something more sensible, like the horseback riding lessons his brother had constantly urged him to take—. I... slipped into a hole.
—A hole, you say? —the stranger repeated, his tone laced with skepticism. With a subtle movement, he made the bell hanging from his collar ring, producing a soft but unsettling sound—. What were you doing playing near a place like that?
The stranger's hand, tanned and playful, rose from the ground and began to slide slowly across Johnny's chest. Paralyzed, Johnny couldn't tear his gaze away. Without warning, the unknown figure extended his claws with unsettling agility, and in a single motion, he tore through Johnny's sky-blue shirt, leaving a perfect line of rips.
Joestar swallowed hard, feeling a knot in his throat and an odd sense of danger wrapping around him.
—So?
—I wasn't playing —Johnny admitted, feeling the fear slowly taking hold of him. His words caught in his throat before he could continue—. I was following a...
—A rabbit? —the stranger interrupted, his smile widening when he saw Johnny nod, still confused and trembling—. Diego should be more careful when opening portals —the cat commented, still with a playful air.
Johnny tilted his head, completely bewildered.
—Remind me to tell him —the stranger added, as if this entire conversation were the most normal thing in the world.
Johnny couldn't help but furrow his brow, unable to grasp the logic behind those words. The situation was becoming more absurd with every passing second.
—What... do you mean? —he asked, his voice filled with disbelief, as he tried to process what he had just heard.
The stranger, still maintaining his relaxed demeanor, let out a soft, almost musical laugh.
—So... you're the one who made the king so nervous? —the feline inquired.
—King? Oh... my God, have I offended a king too? —Johnny stammered, his voice trembling with growing panic—. What’s going to happen to me now?
The feline raised an eyebrow, his ears twitching as if he were savoring the fear in Johnny's words. He tilted his head thoughtfully, as if evaluating the situation from a different angle, a playful smile curling his lips.
—Though now that I look at you more closely... —he whispered, allowing a pause that made Johnny’s heart race even faster—. What exactly makes you dangerous? —the hybrid's tone was almost cruel in its condescension, as if he saw nothing in Johnny but a helpless intruder, lost in a world he didn't belong to.
The stranger leaned in dangerously close, his green eyes so near Johnny’s face that he could feel the warmth of his breath. For a moment, Johnny feared that the strange feline might bite his ear. The blonde bit his lower lip, an involuntary impulse in response to the growing tension. If the situation continued like this, he feared he’d soon be facing a rather uncomfortable problem, one he’d much rather avoid at all costs.
—Stop... —Johnny whispered, his voice barely a thread of sound that almost disappeared into the night air. If it weren't for the sharp hearing of the feline hybrid, that plea would have gone unnoticed.
—Hmm? —the stranger replied, his pointed ears twitching with a curious motion.
The feline's hands, slender but surprisingly firm, continued their exploration of Johnny's torso, sliding with an unsettling familiarity. Not satisfied with that, the hybrid let his fingers drift lower, invading the space below Johnny's belt, unleashing a wave of shame and alarm in the young Joestar, who squeezed his eyes shut, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks.
—I said enough! —Johnny shouted, and with all his strength, he kicked the boy right in the groin. The hybrid fell to the ground with a grunt.
Johnny sprang to his feet, trying to hide the trembling in his hands and the flush on his cheeks. Without giving the stranger time to react, he spun on his heels and bolted, his footsteps echoing on the strange ground of the forest. With every step, he felt his heart pounding harder, fear and confusion pushing him forward.
—Hey! Hey! —The hybrid's voice easily caught up to him—. You won't get anywhere if you don't know where you're going!
Johnny heard the hybrid’s voice, but he didn’t dare look back. The stranger’s words only heightened his anxiety. In his mind, he repeated over and over that all he wanted was to return to the safety of his home. He longed for the warmth of the tea he shared with his father, the irritated but affectionate scolding from his brother Nicholas when he saw his clothes torn, and the comfort of Tusk, his cat, who always knew how to make him smile with his purring.
Yet, reality was relentless. Johnny’s vision began to blur, his eyes filling with tears he tried in vain to wipe away with the back of his hand. But it was then, in the middle of his desperation, that he stumbled once again over a familiar root. As if the forest itself were mocking his attempt to escape, he fell heavily to the ground, the impact knocking the air from his lungs.
Lying there, face pressed to the cold earth, Johnny felt his desperation grow.
—I told you so —a soft voice murmured, so close to his ear.
Johnny lifted his gaze, only to find the strange feline standing next to him like a shadow. The hybrid looked at him in a way Johnny couldn’t quite identify; maybe pity, maybe a morbid curiosity. Tears slid down his face, carving trails on his pale cheeks, but he lacked the strength to wipe them away. His whole body trembled from exhaustion and accumulated anguish.
He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the voice that seemed to penetrate his very thoughts. He wanted to scream, tell it to leave him alone, but his throat felt so tight that he could barely breathe.
The other blonde frowned, a sneer twisting his fine features. Was this the same guy who, according to Hot, had enraged the King of Hearts so much that he had ordered the execution of his entire ballet? If Johnny Joestar was truly the one from the prophecy, then Wonderland was doomed. The feline shook his head repeatedly, a gesture full of disappointment.
Without warning, his body vanished in a blink of lights and flashes, leaving Johnny standing alone on the strange path. The young man barely had time to process the loneliness that enveloped him before an involuntary sob escaped his lips, his desperation rising like a tide. But just then, as tears threatened to spill again, he saw him. That mocking figure reappeared on the same branch where they had met moments before, the same sly smile playing on his lips.
Johnny, struggling to regain control of his breath, looked up at him, fear and confusion tangled in his mind.
—What the hell are you? —Johnny managed to ask, his voice trembling, still gasping for air as if the words were harder to say than they should have been.
The feline regarded him with narrowed eyes, his tail lazily swaying behind him like a pendulum, marking a rhythm completely foreign to the world Johnny knew.
—Me? I’m Gyro —he introduced himself with an air of self-assurance, almost theatrical—. Although, of course, not everyone here call me like that —he added with a shrug, his gesture nonchalant—. The real question here is... what are you?
He pointed at him with one of his sharp claws, a gesture that seemed more playful than before.
—Because if you're a duck —he continued, tilting his head with feigned curiosity—, let me tell you, you're the ugliest duck I've ever seen.
The mockery echoed in the air, amplified by the taunting resonance of the forest. Johnny, still trembling, wrapped his arms around himself in a desperate attempt to cover his torn torso. His cheeks flushed a deep, furious red.
In that moment, he forgot he was lost in such a strange place that even his wildest imagination could never have conceived. He forgot the trees whispering around him, the creatures watching from the shadows, and even the fear that had paralyzed him moments before.
—I'm not a duck, I'm a man! —he shouted, standing as tall and dignified as he could muster—. My name is Jonathan, Jonathan Joestar!
Gyro raised an eyebrow, visibly amused by the sudden boldness of the young man. He leaped nimbly, landing on the ground in front of Johnny, his eyes gleaming with renewed interest.
—Well, well... You have more spirit than I thought —purred the feline, drawing closer with an unsettling fluidity. His pupils narrowed into thin slits that gleamed with an almost hypnotic intensity—. But tell me, little intruder... don't you think the title of 'man' is a bit too much for you?
The slap echoed with a sharp crack that cut through the constant rustle of the leaves. Johnny, breathless and fists still clenched, stood his ground before the other as if that small act of defiance could give him back some control he had lost the moment he fell through that damned hole. His words poured out like an unstoppable torrent, filled with fury and desperation:
—I'm sick of this! So, for your honor, I demand you tell me where the hell I am! —he shouted, his voice barely holding together at the end—. Tell me, or you'll face the consequences! My father doesn't tolerate this kind of joke, and if you call me a duck again, I'll shove a duck up your ass, you degenerate bastard!
The intensity of his words reverberated in the air, but Gyro didn't seem the least bit fazed. His face remained expressionless, his green eyes narrowed as if Johnny were little more than an insect placed before him. With a slow blink, he assessed the young man, his feline ears twitching slightly in amusement.
Johnny kept talking, ranting about his father and his connections, but the cat stopped paying attention halfway through his tirade. A lazy smile spread across his face as he considered his options.
He had two clear choices: he could calmly explain that the young man was in a place where his last name and laws meant absolutely nothing, and that he was farther from home than he could ever imagine; or, he could let him continue talking and return to the tea party he had left unfinished.
Gyro sighed with an exasperation that almost seemed theatrical, crossing his arms as he tilted his head in a way that barely concealed his amusement.
—Well...! —he finally murmured, his voice so sweet it bordered on mockery—. It’s been a pleasure, really —he added, shrugging indifferently—. But... I’m afraid it’s time for me to go —Without warning, his figure vanished and reappeared on a different branch of a tree.
The façade of courage Johnny had managed to maintain until that moment crumbled in the blink of an eye, revealing an expression of almost childlike distress. He took a step toward the tree, his gaze pleading.
—No... don't leave me, please —he begged, walking toward the base of the trunk as he tried to reach the enigmatic figure that had already settled in the shadows of the foliage—. I don't know anyone here, I have nowhere to spend the night.
—I thought you disliked me. Did you change your mind that quickly, intruder?
Johnny felt a lump form in his throat. His hands trembled, but he didn't dare look away from those eyes that pierced through him like a knife.
—It's not that... —he stammered, trying to find the right words—. It's just that... I don't want to be alone.
Gyro tilted his head once more, as if weighing the plea.
—Well… —the feline said, with a tone that suggested he had come to a sudden conclusion—. I’m afraid I couldn’t care less. Arrivederci, Mr. Intruder!
And before Johnny could even process what he had just heard, Gyro vanished in a blink of dancing lights, leaving behind a mocking laugh that echoed through the trees. It was as if the forest itself were mocking him.
Johnny blinked, stunned, as the absence of the feline enveloped him in an unsettling silence. Suddenly, the entire surroundings felt heavy and oppressive again, as if the shadows were closing in on him. The ground seemed to wobble beneath his feet, and he hugged himself, his trembling fingers brushing the torn fabric of his shirt. With hesitant steps, he approached a fallen log he barely remembered seeing before, as if the forest had changed while he wasn’t looking. He collapsed onto it, exhausted both physically and mentally.
Tears began to roll down his cheeks before he could stop them. His whole body trembled with each sob, and for the first time since he had entered this strange world, he allowed himself to truly feel lost.
He probably cried for less than two minutes, but to Johnny, every second felt like an eternity. He had barely noticed how the tears fell relentlessly, forming small puddles around him. However, when he looked down, he discovered that the ground beneath his feet was already partially covered in water. He blinked, incredulous, and heard (though he wasn’t sure if it was the product of his wild imagination or a real warning) the terrified voices of the trees, murmuring to each other, fearful that the entire valley might flood.
—Hey.
A familiar voice interrupted his sobs. Johnny pulled his hands away from his tear-streaked, reddened face, blinking to clear his vision. Before him, standing as if nothing had happened, was Gyro.
—If you don't stop crying, you're going to flood the valley.
The younger man stared at him, still with red, swollen eyes from the tears. The idea was absurd, but the other’s presence had a similarly unreal quality.
—Alright, alright, take this —Gyro said, offering Johnny a box of tissues that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Still sobbing, Johnny reached out with a trembling hand and pulled one of the tissues, but soon realized that it was just another absurd wonder of this place: no matter how much he pulled, the tissue never ran out.
With no other option, Johnny brought the end of the tissue to his nose and blew forcefully.
—Please... —he pleaded between tears, his voice breaking—. I just want to go home... I just want to go back.
The feline hybrid watched him with what seemed like apparent pity, though it was hard to say for sure, given the constant mockery that seemed to linger in his gaze.
—Hey, Jonathan... Johnny, right? —the young man nodded—. I really wish I could help you, but I have no idea how... —he began to say, but his sentence trailed off. Suddenly, his pointed ears twitched restlessly, swiveling in all directions as if catching a sound that only he could hear.
His green eyes sharpened, and his body tensed like that of a prey animal sensing danger.
—Shh... —he whispered, raising a hand to signal Johnny to remain silent. His eyes were fixed on a point beyond the trees, deep within the thick of the surreal forest.
Johnny stayed frozen, his muscles tense with fear. The sudden seriousness on the feline's face unsettled him even more. His mind racing with increasingly terrifying possibilities. Perhaps it was a bear, a cougar, or some even more fearsome creature that only existed in this distorted world.
The silence that followed was overwhelming. The only sound was the soft rustle of the purple leaves stirred by an invisible wind, and Johnny held his breath, hoping whatever was lurking wouldn’t detect them. Gyro took a step back, his slit pupils dilating, and his ears continued swiveling in all directions.
A muffled crack echoed from the depths of the earth beneath them. The feline's left ear twitched at the sound, and without a second thought, it grabbed Johnny's pale wrist and, with a swift motion, disappeared.
The ground, strange and green, seemed to open up, and from it, a young man emerged with a graceful leap.
Johnny, now pressed against the top of a nearby tree, found himself trapped between the hard wood and Gyro's chest, who kept a hand over his mouth, preventing him from making a sound. He barely managed to turn his head to see who it was. What he saw was another peculiar figure: a young man with blond hair, perfectly styled back, and a pair of fluffy, pointed ears sticking out from it. His blue outfit, flawless despite having just emerged from the earth, fit him perfectly, adorned with golden details that barely reflected the glow of the sunset. A pocket watch gleamed on his chest, while his electric blue eyes flashed with relentless anxiety, as if time was slipping away from him.
He shook his suit with evident obsession, his ears, resembling those of a rabbit, twitching frantically as he swept his gaze across the clearing, as if trying to catch even the faintest whisper of the air.
But he found nothing.
He furrowed his brow, clenching his jaw tightly, and took his gold pocket watch in his hands, opening it quickly. Upon seeing the time, a strange sound escaped his lips.
—Shit —he whispered, irritation clearly visible on his face.
He moved his nose, almost imperceptible to the naked eye, but clearly adorned with whiskers, and his foot, decorated with a heel, swayed up and down in an unsettling rhythm, echoing in the silence of the clearing. The nearby creatures recoiled, fearful of his presence, while the tree behind which the duo was hiding whispered softly:
—He must be looking for him.
The feline, motionless, didn’t respond.
The rabbit pondered for a moment, his gaze fixed and his mind working at full speed. Finally, after a few seconds of reflection, he whispered to himself, as if trying to convince himself of something.
—The king is going to decapitate me —he lamented, stroking his neck with his gloved hand.
Johnny felt a chill run through his body, his eyes flickering as they locked onto the intensity with which Gyro stared at the other hybrid. The tension between the two was palpable, and he, caught between them, could do nothing but remain silent.
Finally, the stranger in the suit shifted slightly, as if trying to release the built-up pressure, and shook his head. With a swift motion, he returned his watch to its place and tapped the heel of his shoe against the ground a couple of times. Instantly, the ground beneath him cracked open into a deep hole. Without hesitation, he took a step forward and vanished into the darkness that was quickly forming.
Only then, when the stranger’s presence became evident in his absence, did Gyro slowly remove his hand from Johnny’s mouth, finally allowing him to breathe freely.
—Were you chasing him? —the cat asked, curiosity clear in his voice.
—No, no —the blond quickly denied—. Well, it looks like him, but I was following a white rabbit, with a blue suit and...
Soon, Jonathan started to realize that none of it made sense.
—Well, Diego is a rabbit —Gyro replied, shrugging—. I don’t know how rabbits are in your world, but around here, they look like that.
The taller man jumped down from the tree branch and approached the open hole in the ground with an air of suspicion.
—Then, Lucy was right. His majesty is looking for you like crazy —he commented, glancing at his companion still perched on the branch—. I thought hares only spoke nonsense.
—Who? —Johnny asked.
—You should go back —the feline stated firmly.
—And how? —Johnny asked.
—I don't know —the feline replied, biting one of his sharp nails with an expression of frustration—. I don’t think we can ask Diego for a favor. You know? He and I... well, we... he and Hot, they’re on bad terms. You know, like a couple. He left our side almost three years ago.
The two young men stood in silence for a few seconds. For the first time, Johnny thought he sensed a strange emotion in the odd creature: melancholy.
When he was finally out of the tree, Johnny approached Gyro, driven by something he didn't fully understand, and gently placed his hand on one of his shoulders.
—I'm sorry.
The green-eyed man smiled faintly, but soon shook his head, regaining his usual expression of indifference.
—It doesn’t matter! What matters here is that you’re going to die —he teased, but Johnny found no humor in his words—. But! That’s not my problem. And now that I remember, there’s a tea party I promised to return to with lemon marmalade. They probably think I’m dead by now.
The feline laughed, turning to leave, but just as Johnny thought about lunging at him, a sharp sound cut through the forest air, crossed the clearing, and appeared like an arrow, grazing inches from Joestar before embedding itself in a nearby tree trunk, catching one of the feline's whiskers.
Johnny let out a muffled sigh, watching as a fine, deep cut began to form on the stranger’s cheek.
Gyro frowned, yanked the arrow from the tree trunk, and closely examined its tip, accidentally cutting one of his whiskers in the process. The tip was shaped like a pink heart.
A few meters away, Gyro heard a couple of familiar voices, those of some royal guards, and, as expected, the voice of their leader, scolding whoever had shot the arrow and ordering the cards to, by any means, find the intruder and capture them alive.
—Blackmore —he murmured, stepping back—. He's here.
—Who? —Johnny asked, frightened, looking at the stranger with confusion.
—Come on, and you'd better run fast!
Without warning, the feline grabbed Johnny by the wrist and dragged him along, both of them running swiftly. As they moved, Johnny noticed how the trees began to change. The sunset was becoming clearer, bathing the path in an orange light.
—What's that?! —Johnny yelled.
—Not 'what,' but 'who!' —Gyro corrected, emphasizing the last word as he clutched the brim of his hat with a trembling hand—. They're Valentine’s men, it’s Blackmore! If he finds us, it’ll cost us our heads! Oh, by all my cards!
—Lose our heads? —Johnny replied, his voice rising in a desperate scream—. What kind of place is this?!
Gyro, with a feline grin that returned as quickly as it had vanished before, let out a hurried chuckle.
—Welcome to Wonderland.