Shizuka arrives in Morioh to begin her search for her birth mother.
Shizuka Joestar loved her parents as much as they loved her. This had always remained a truth throughout their entire life together. Even her father's infidelity couldn't break the two of them apart, mainly because of the fact that the situation that resulted from it brought her into their lives.
Despite this, Shizuka often found herself wondering what many adopted children have at some point: Who made me? It wasn't as if she was prepared to drop everything and abandon her family on a quest to find her "real parents", or anything, but it was hard not to think about it from time to time.
That was made all the more difficult by the obvious differences between her and her parents. They were a pair of elderly white people who'd lived in New York for most of their lives while she was a young Asian child straight from a small town in Japan. Beyond the obvious double-take many of her classmates had after her first career day at school, it only helped to intensify the yearning she felt for answers.
That was why, at twelve years of age, she finally asked for permission to explore her hometown to look for her birth mother. She tried to keep her goals realistic (after all, it was much more likely she'd find the mother of a baby abandoned on the side of a road compared to both parents), but that request still came with a series of challenges.
Both her parents were pushing 90 years old, something that made travel a bit of a hazardous affair. Not only that, her father's reputation for walking away from eight different plane crashes in his lifetime might bode well for him, but anyone else in the aircraft with him might be another story. If nothing else, she'd planned for school, asking a month out from her summer vacation so as not to interfere with it.
Despite all this, numerous requests, a Power Point presentation, and an invisible tantrum eventually caused them to relent, but on the condition she have a chaperon ready. Though Shizuka balked at the idea of needing someone to follow her around (she was twelve years old!), her first instinct was to ask her brother to accompany her when she got to Japan. Unfortunately, he and his friends had apparently gone on a camping trip to the mountains only a few days prior and couldn't be reached due to a lack of cell reception.
The next obvious candidate was her nephew. Despite the title, he was a grown man of 40 and had the full trust of both her parents, not to mention a very aloof attitude that would probably let her get away with doing whatever she wanted. As if fate was conspiring to keep her from her goals, though, he was also busy, apparently preoccupied with his daughter being sentenced to prison. After him was cousin Jolyne, but…
That left only one person whom she'd never met nor spoken to in her entire life. Jotaro had apparently arranged for this before he went off on business, but both her parents were hesitant to accept. Frankly, that was good enough for her rebellious preteen sensibilities, though those same sensibilities still wouldn't allow her to be happy with an adult hanging around.
She managed to persuade everyone to let her take the flight to S City alone, as well as a simple bus ride into Morioh. She'd never actually ridden the bus before, what with her family having a private driver, so it was a nice experience. Frustration quickly overtook amusement once she got into town, though.
Having picked up her father's skills in observation, she realized the taxi following them the entire ride was probably the person who'd be tagging along. These suspicions where confirmed when a tall man with shocking blond hair emerged from the passenger's side in the back, strolling towards her casually.
"Buongiorno," he greeted with a heavy Italian accent and a slight bow. "Are you Shizuka Joestar?" he asked in perfect Japanese.
"Maybe," she replied, pulling down her dark sunglasses just a hair in a gesture she was sure made her look extremely cool.
With a nod, he introduced himself. "I am Giorno Giovanna, your..." He had to pause, not entirely sure what the label for their relationship would be. "Well, it's not too important. We're family all the same. I'll be accompanying you on your trip. And, please, call me GioGio. There's no need for anything overly formal."
Everything about this man put her on edge, but she couldn't place why. He was exceptionally hard to read, keeping a demeanor that was equal parts friendly and cold all at once. Deep down inside, though, she thought she could sense some kind of strength. Not the simple kind of strength like pure brawn, but a warm, loving strength that allowed him to take on the burden of others. It may even be the reason he chose to help her personally when, while Shizuka had no way of knowing this, he had numerous others who could have gone in his place.
"GioGio!" a voice said from the car. Out stepped a woman who was dressed in what could charitably be described as an outfit, plodding barefoot across the sidewalk to meet up with the two. From the second Shizuka spotted her, she felt this stranger's gaze bore into her like she was part of one of those shows where they trick criminals into getting themselves caught, everyone around somehow knowing of the Joestar's guilt before she was even aware she'd committed any crimes.
"You know you can't just run off without me," she told the man. "I can't guard a body that isn't in my range."
Giorno merely chuckled. "I told you I'd be perfectly fine on my own. Besides, I doubt we have much to worry about in a town like this." He turned back to Shizuka. "Sorry, I should introduce you two. This is my bodyguard, Sheila E. Sheila E, this is my...family member, Shizuka Joestar."
Despite the fact they'd be forced into interaction over these next few weeks, it was clear none of them had gotten off on the right foot. Shizuka and Sheila E were locked into something akin to a staring match, Giorno too busy admiring the quaint scenery of Morioh to pay much attention.
Clicking her tongue, Shizuka shoved her hands into her pink and purple hoodie. "That's just great," she mumbled. "So if you're my babysitters, what do we do now?"
Giorno merely shook his head. "Nothing of the sort. We're merely here to keep you safe. This journey is yours to take, so you'll be the one to decide our course."
"Does she not speak Italian?" Sheila E whispered. "I can't understand either of you."
"That might be a problem," he said with a nod, deftly switching between languages. "Shizuka, do you mind if we take a detour quickly? I'd like us to get something sorted out before we begin."
"Whatever," she sighed, letting Giorno and Sheila E pass her. Despite obviously having more knowledge of the town than either of them, they were still able to take the lead without much issue. It was hard to tell whether the man actually knew where he was going or simply had exceptional luck as he wandered around sightseeing.
Somehow, they managed to make it to an unassuming house that she was quite familiar with. Was it just a coincidence or were these people trying to make fun of her. "I believe this is the house," Giorno said. With the confidence or a man who had nothing in the world to fear, he strolled up to the house, reaching out to ring the doorbell before being stopped by a hand grabbing his wrist through a crack in the door.
Sheila E was ready to spring into action, but Giorno held up his free hand to signal her to stand down. "Oh, you're the one, right?" the man said, releasing his grip and opening the door fully. There stood famous mangaka Kishibe Rohan in all his glory.
"Yes," Giorno answered. "I called ahead. I thought we might need your assistance, so thank you for agreeing to help."
"Just remember our deal," he said sternly. "I'd like all the details to be as accurate as possible. My readers won't appreciate it if you lie to me about what being a mobster is truly like." Peering behind the man he spoke to, Rohan caught sight of Shizuka, flashing a familiar smile her way. "You all should come inside. It would be easier to discuss the details of what you want me to do."
Giorno agreed, gesturing the other two inside. This place hadn't changed much since Shizuka last came to visit, everything kept orderly and clean to an almost sterile degree as if its occupant rarely used much of the space he owned. "Take a seat in the sitting room," Rohan told them. "I'll bring out some tea."
As Shizuka kicked off a pair of sneakers, she saw Giorno stop the woman next to her. "Oh, Sheila E. Sorry, but please wipe your feet. Japanese homes prefer if anyone entering removes their shoes, but since you have none..." It was more than a bit amusing to watch her take a seat on the ground without a moment's hesitation, feverishly wiping down her feet with a handkerchief before proceeding.
They didn't have to wait for long before Rohan returned, placing a tray with cups of green tea for each of them on a coffee table. Before mentioning a word of business, he turned to Shizuka. "I'm glad you came to see me," he told her warmly. "It's been a while since you last visited."
"Mom and dad are getting old, so we don't get to travel as much anymore," she said, her bratty exterior giving way to a much more agreeable and sweet side she didn't much feel like showing people these days. For whatever reason, the two of them had become fast friends over the years once Shizuka had learned to talk (or rather, read), Rohan remaining one of the few people she didn't talk back to or disrespect as she started to mature.
"How do you feel about the current story arc?" he asked, always taking a chance to gauge the opinions of his audience in person. "You're still keeping up with the manga I send you?"
She nodded. "Dad and I read it together online every week, but we still read it again when we get them in the mail. We like what you're doing with the villain this time. I didn't think there was so much you could do with a power that can only move small things around." Shizuka had taken off her sunglasses to hold the conversation, emerald-colored eyes lit with excitement as she discussed her favorite comic.
He laughed to himself proudly. "I always strive to find new ways to use mundane or useless concepts in my manga in ways that no one has tried before." His expression shifted after that, though, almost physically forcing himself to switch gears to talk about something besides manga. "But we can continue this conversation another time. I understand you're all here for a reason."
"We are," Giorno said, Sheila E beside him as she continuously took sips of tea only to grimace in disgust at its flavor. "Before we begin, though, can I ask a favor? I heard from our mutual friend that you can impart languages onto others."
"A simple matter," Rohan said, producing a pen from seemingly thin air. "Heaven's Door!" he called out, sketching his Stand into existence. It shot across from him, opening up Sheila E like a travel brochure. Her instinct was to struggle, but one look to Giorno quelled her panic.
"That should take care of that," he said after he finished writing a command into her. His power undid itself after he sat back down. "Now, what did you need me for?"
"I understood that," Sheila E said in amazement, realizing at the same moment her words came out in native-sounding Japanese.
"It should be much easier for us to accomplish our goal if we can all speak the same language," Giorno told her.
"Thank you, GioGio," she said, overlooking the person who had actually done the deed of giving her the ability.
Rohan cleared his throat, not wanting to waste time he could be using to get a head start on next week's pages. "Of course," Giorno replied. "You see, we've come here today to search for Shizuka's birth mother. We were wondering if you had any connections that might be able to lead us in the right direction."
Shizuka was taken aback at this. As far as she knew, they were only here to eliminate a language barrier, but this man was already working towards her goal ahead of her. Sure, she likely would have come to the same conclusion on her own, but she would have preferred to be the one to make that choice. So much for this being her journey.
Nodding, Rohan admitted, "I've actually looked into that from time to time over the years. I haven't found much, though." That was more than nothing, however, as he quickly explained. "My Heaven's Door can only reveal the memories of a person, so a baby had very little of use. When I looked into what was written about Shizuka, the only thing of interest I found was a single word: Centipede."
"So the only thing you know is that I saw a centipede as a baby?" Shizuka replied, her disappointment apparent in her voice.
"Most likely, but there's more. I couldn't help but wonder why that word compared to so many others had been stuck in your brain. Eventually, I did some digging." Without a word, Rohan stood from his seat, leaving the room briefly to take a folder he'd collected and slide it across the table. "I wasn't sure when or even if I should have told you about this. I'll understand if you're upset with me."
Opening the cover, Shizuka parsed several newspaper clippings and printouts of articles. "What is...this is about human trafficking." This caught the attention of both Giorno and Sheila E. "Centipede is the name of some trafficking ring? Wait, what are you trying to say?" Despite asking the question, it was clear why Rohan had collected this information. "Are you serious? I can't be… I mean…"
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Giorno said to try and reassure her. "I'm sure there's another explanation."
"Perhaps, but I'm not seeing one," Rohan said bluntly. "I'm sorry for keeping this from you for so long, but I didn't want to frighten you. But if you're looking for your birth mother, I suppose I can't hide it from you any longer."
"So I was...kidnapped, or something? And, what, I escaped?" She held her head in her hands as she desperately tried to process all of this information.
"You do have a useful ability," Rohan said. "It wouldn't be difficult for you to become misplaced if the stress awakened your Stand."
Of all people, Sheila E was the next to speak. "Are you okay?" she asked, almost feeling sorry for the girl. She was no stranger to rough childhoods, so it was hard to fight the small amount of kinship brewing in her heart.
Shizuka said nothing for several seconds. After that, though, she lifted her head. Even with her eyes hidden, the determination of her gaze was unmistakable. "I'm just great. This just means we actually have a lead. Which means all we need to do now is find the people who took me and make them talk."
Here's my take on something I'm fairly sure most people have actually wanted to hear about at some point or another. Maybe it'll be good.
Yeah, this is why Giorno didn't show up in Stone Ocean. Jotaro never had the chance to call him back, either, since he's either in a coma or actively on Pucci's ass since heading to Green Dolphin. Same for Josuke since he and the lads are off on a camping trip fighting, like, a Stand-wielding demon bear that's out for blood. That's a story I'd pay to read.
Since Sheila E is here, we're operating off PHF being a part of the continuity. Personally, I don't think it's that hard to square it with the anime's Fugo backstory since it doesn't change much besides the specifics of said backstory. Honestly, from where I stand, I think the anime's take actually makes PHF a better story retroactively, so I'd probably say that the actual canon we're working with is a mix of both. When PHF OVA?
I like the idea of Rohan having a connection with Shizuka and being less of a dickhead around her than he normally is. It's probably because I like Strawberry-Jan's Morioh comics and he kind of has that relationship with little Jolyne, so I wanted something like that here. Side note, apparently she deleted recently. Hope she's okay.
As bad of a husband Joseph is, he's a pretty good father. He and Suzy Q made sure Shizuka stayed in touch with her heritage while they were raising her, so she took frequent trips back to Morioh to see Josuke and the gang and learned Japanese in addition to English. She probably went to see Holy sometimes, too, and Jotaro in Florida. I would hope she's kind of close with Jolyne and maybe helped facilitate some interactions between her and her father over the years.
Gangster or not, I imagine Jotaro has full faith in Giorno by this point. He won Koichi over, and he trusts Koichi, so he can have custody of Shizuka for a month over summer. Besides, Polnareff is there to keep an eye on him now. Everyone can trust Polnareff to make good decisions.
Like with anything related to Part V, there's going to be some dark stuff going on in here if the fact Shizuka's going after a human trafficking ring wasn't enough of a tipoff. Proceed with caution if stuff like that or abuse themes are something you're not okay with.
I wish I knew someone musical to commission a Shizuka theme. I'm trying to think of how to square the dubstep heavy Part II influences with the funk rock nature of Part IV, plus that jazzy Golden Wind during Giorno and Sheila E scenes.
That's about all we've got for now. Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember to turn into a book.