After much crusading I find myself again with free time. Please forgive me for my large period of hiatus, life had been too difficult for me to write. I still have not acquired the rights to JoJo's Bizare Adventure, its own by Hirohiko Araki, but I am still a fan. Please enjoy this big from me update.
"Err where am I?" A weary Joseph Joestar asked himself.
Sitting up he noticed that he was strapped in an empty hospital room with wires connected to a heart monitor and IV. He paused his thoughts momentarily wondering just how he ended up here. His head felt dizzy, his body ached sorely, but the one thing he mostly noted that his arms felt empty. "Where was his Shizuka?' He thought in quiet desperation. All the traumatic events replayed in his head. The light was red, it was his turn to cross the street, there was a speeding truck and he just stood there in horror, then everything went black.
'Jotaro probably found me and got the doctors to stabilize me.' Joseph thought to himself silently also wondering why his attentive grandson, was such a horrible parental figure if he cared so deeply for him and his mother? Sighing at the trivialities of Jotaro's personality, his thoughts ran back to his misplaced daughter. She was still out there, alone, and possibly distraught as she most likely witnessed his collision with the truck. Trying to get up, his body halted him from any other movements as he was met overbearing pain. Whimpering he scanned the room for his grandson, but Jotaro was nowhere to be found. He felt so old and decrepit, he needed to get up from the accursed bed, he needed to be independent. The thoughts of his helpless daughter crying all alone in the darkening city was driving him crazy.
'I gotta get out of here.' The old man told himself as he saw his only means of escape in the solitary closed hospital window. The anxiety about his daughter's whereabouts, the worry of her last feeding and the darkening clouds were increasing his adrenaline. His blood pressure rose tremendously and the IV in his arm felt like a ball and chain preventing him from getting out of bed. Green eyes dilated in desperation, his breathing was getting short and the hospital room started spinning out of control, but his age was not going to halt his goal of running out of this hospital and finding his daughter!
"Remember your breathing." Joseph told himself as he recalled his training from his mother. Calming down he could feel the hamon resonate with Josuke's blood, rejuvenating him from the inside out. A half hour later, Joseph Joestar felt like a younger man, now he had the strength to get out of bed and search for daughter that called to his worried soul. Taking another energizing breath, he sat up on the bed and forcibly tore out his heart monitor wires and IV. Once he was on his feet, he spotted his clothes, changed and walked over to his only means of escape… the third story hospital window.
Meanwhile in the waiting room Jotaro was using Star Platinum to hear the nurses panicking.
"Room 302's heart monitor just flat lined." A nurse informed the doctor, who was currently with another patient.
"What are you doing telling me this? Go get the defibrillators, check the patient and then get back to me!" The doctor roared at the incompetence of his nursing staff.
Jotaro's blue eyes widen in horror as he heard the doctor yelling. His grandfather just flat-lined… after all his efforts, after everything they went through with DIO he just died? No, he wouldn't let the incompetence of this mediocre hospital be the reason why his grandfather dies before his time. Elbowing his uncle, Josuke woke up from his light sleep against his mother's shoulder.
"What's up?" Josuke asked as he stretched his neck in a circular motion.
"It's Ji ji... The nurses are in a panic, we have to check it out." Nodding in agreement, he got up from his chair, but before he walked through the waiting room doors, he stole a sharp glance at his worried mother. It was quick, but held so much meaning. She was to stay put, not intervene with the affairs of a married man, that if she had forgotten, she took advantage of. This was no reunion of lost lovers and she was to leave without even laying an eye on him.
The security at the hospital were all smoke and mirrors, the nurses were in such a panic searching for the lost medical equipment and double checking all the room heart monitors, that the duo Joestars went unnoticed as they bolted into room 302. Kicking the door down, the two men were shocked senseless as they processed the scene before them. The old man's hospital gown was thrown on the floor, blood was smeared against white hospital linens, Joseph had torn off his IV and monitors wires. Everything was happening so fast, but if felt like time dragged on as they finally noticed the true horror the hospital room held, the man that caused them so much worry had set off the hospital alarms as he pried open the secured third story window.
'He's going to jump!' Both younger Joestars thought as the entire scene finally seemed to speed up.
"I can't live like this. I'm useless. Why did you bring me here? "Joseph said as he was about to jump out.
Guilt was quickly filling Josuke's rapid beating heart. There was no way he had done so much damage, in so little time. He didn't know at the time about his situation, Shizuka's invisibility was no excuse for him to treat him so terribly, and now because of his hostility, his elderly father had become suicidal and it was all his fault. He needed to make everything right. There was no way that he could live with himself, if something happened to the old man. Rushing to the window Josuke held on to his father's torso. Joseph struggled and yelled to be let go.
"Please Mr. Joestar, stop it. I'm sorry." Josuke pleaded desperately to the flailing old man.
"Oh no! You don't need me and I don't want to be cooped up in some hospital. Hamon overdrive!" Joseph yelled jolting Josuke into Jotaro. Josuke's blue eyes were filled with so much grief and pain. His father was hurt so much that he didn't care about taking his life in front of his son and grandson. Running towards the window Josuke mentally prepared himself to see a body plastered on the floor with blood staining the asphalt, but much to his surprise there was none. Joseph seemed to be in the middle of a jailbreak instead of some type of suicide attempt. Just running back to the center of the city.
"Yare Yare daze…" Jotaro said as he lowered his cap in shame.
"We forgot about the crying brat…" The marine biologist remembered as he saw the path his grandfather chose.
Huffing and puffing for air, the nurses came rushing in the room with defibrillators in hands.
"Where's the patient?" The nurses asked in horror as the saw the two men in the disheveled room.
Josuke chuckled as he pointed to the destroyed room window.
Leaving the flabbergasted nurses behind, Josuke was just happy that he wasn't the cause of his father's jumping, laughing at their current situation both Joestars ran out of the hospital room looking for his renegade geezer.
"Josuke, I'll meet you there. I gotta get this paperwork filed and contact the Speedwagon foundation." Jotaro informed as he walked to the front desk. With a slight nod, he understood and waved back hoping to be fruitful in finding the enigma of an old man.
By the time Joseph reached the library, he was shocked when he saw that the whole city center had seem to disappear, the ground was visible and it was eerily quiet. The infant must have cried herself asleep. Sighing the old man whispered her name walking cautiously hoping not to trip or bump into anything. It was getting dark, and the wind was picking up, he was determined to find her before it got too cold. There was no heavy breathing or snoring, so this time it seemed a bit more difficult to find his daughter. Displacing his hamon across the ground he was able to make out buildings, trees and cars, but the invisible baby didn't appear to be there. Louder he yelled out her name hoping to wake her, louder he cried until worry caught up to his mind. Maybe she left... Maybe Kira had gotten to her and brained washed her. Hyperventilating for the worse Joseph sat down by a torn up 18 wheeler.
"Where did you go?" Joseph calmly asked the void as he stood in the middle of his own crime scene. Finding a bench in the middle of the park he took a seat. A few minutes later a small giggling was heard. To his delight she was still there. Where he couldn't tell just yet, but she was alive and well.
"Shizuka come to papa." The old man crawled to the loudening giggling. Relieved that her father was alive and well, her stress levels diminished and the city slowly returned back to it's normal visibility. Everything was in place and before the reporters showed up, he walked away with his baby cradled in his arms back to the hotel.
"Mr. Joestar, Mr. Joestar! Where are you?" Josuke yelled as he entered the now completely visible city. Gulping down the teen wondered if his father ran back home. He did send him home, he told his father to return home to his wife and lo leave him and his mother alone. Yes that's probably exactly where he went… back home with the baby who fully accepted him as a father.
Shortly after Josuke concluded that his father left, Jotaro arrived.
"Where's the old man?" Jotaro asked obviously to the quiet teen.
"I don't know, probably away from me, with his beloved daughter." The teen confessed as he headed home.
"Wait, what? Ji ji won't leave you alone in this town with Kira. He's probably back at the Moriah Grand Hotel." Jotaro exclaimed as he held the boy's wrist in his hand.
Smiling lightly he knew it was true, Joseph wasn't the jerk of a man he always thought he was. His mother never once painted him in a negative light, he wanted a father when he was younger but now he was a young man, and to some degree he was embarrassed about the much older man. Why couldn't anything ever be normal in his life? His father is an old man and his grandfather was murdered, it was laughable how pathetic he felt at the moment. Jotaro sighed as he walked his nephew to his house.
"Until tomorrow uncle." Jotaro told the teen in attempt to lighten up the mood.
"Yup. Sleep well nephew, tell Mr. Joestar that I'm glad he's well." Josuke said quietly as Jotaro waved goodbye and he closed his front door.
Walking through the house he turned off some lights, locked the remaining doors and then he noticed something.
"Where's mom?" He thought to himself worriedly.
-Morioh Grand Hotel-
It wasn't supposed to be this way. Years have passed since Joseph Joestar used any real amount of his hamon. He had promised his wife Suzie Q after the affair to stop using that ancient technique to keep himself rejuvenated. He was tricked, and under the influence of alcohol, but he always felt like a scumbag for breaking his marriage vows. Sure running off with his grandson and trying to save the world from DIO had been his only reason for ever abandoning her, but that she understood. Now looking into the mirror of his hotel suite, Mr. Joestar remembered very well the man before him. His wrinkles were lessened substantially, his height had returned, he did not return to the physique he had when he first met Jotaro, but it was fairly close.
"She's going to kill me." Joseph told himself as he sighed at his younger reflection.
Looking towards Shizuka's crib he sighed a little more to himself as he felt guilt torment him once more, it would take years of restraint to get back to his older looking self. Years that he would have to apologize to the wife who constantly goes to the gym and under the knife for him, just to be able to stand next to him confidently. Walking closer to her crib, he felt like a jerk to Suzie and a savior to the child, he was so conflicted.
"It's all you fault little one." Joseph chuckled lightly as he picked up the crying infant.
Joseph rocked Shizuka in his arms as he let his mind relive the last couple of hours. He was authentically concerned about his actions. He should have better gauged the amount of hamon he used. He should have tried calming himself a bit more and concentrate on his little one's location; there were so many alternatives that he could have taken, but instead he used enough hamon to cover a 20 mile radius of Moriah.
"All you women are trying to get me killed. Oh yes, you too. When granny Q sees you or not see you, she's going to send me to an asylum for real this time." He informed the invisible and now giggling baby, as she snuggled closer to her adoptive father.
Contemplating on calling his wife, Joseph took a seat upon the bed and agonized the new occurrences in his oddly bizarre life. It would take years to get him back to looking and feeling like a decrepit old man. 'I better fess up or wait until my cougar of a wife dies…' He thought to himself in jest, but when he thought about Josuke for a second, the malignant part of his brain started whispering dark thoughts in his head. He could remarry, and try to amend the relationship with his son, and return honor to his mother. He could provide a warm, loving environment, (once this murder mystery was over of course) to raise his hopefully visible daughter. He cursed his longing for family on his current train of thoughts.
Joseph loved his wife, and his love of children opaque his clear thinking. In a perfect world, he would do as he pleased and just adopt a whole orphanage, but Suzie kept him in check. His wife knew that he was always more of a father than lover, but even then he still would give up the world for his impulsive wife. He married her on a whim, but she understood him inside and out. DIO, hamon and the Joestar curse did not frighten her one bit, and she accepted him more for it. Suzie never considered him weird or a buffoon, like everyone else did. After he returned to the United States, she even helped him through rehab and therapy. He looked at his mechanical hand that was being held by the bundle in his arms, and he thought back to the years of therapy it took to forget his mother as a woman. When he finally came to terms with the mother issues he had, he came running back to established the lost bond he always wanted, but Lisa Lisa ran off with some Hollywood actor never once trying to befriend her only son. Another big blow in his life, another couple of years of therapy. 'No wonder it took us forever to have Holly.' He quietly laugh at all the sacrifice that old lady of his wife had to endure with the likes of him.
Suzie didn't deserve his what ifs, as he thought back to Josuke, Tomoko and Shizuka. He should come clean with his current situation and just call, but the phone mocked him every time he glanced at it. He could just hear her disappointment in his head. It was running late there was always tomorrow he thought to himself, as he returned Shizuka to her crib. Once he heard gentle snoring, Joseph recalled that with the time difference Suzie should be up. It might be dark for him now, but the sun should be dawning at home. He walked towards the telephone on the bedroom dresser, his hand loomed nervously over the receiver as he thought that maybe this wasn't the best time for him to call. It was probably better to face DIO or the Pillar Men once again, than to deal with his inner demons.
The black rotary phone almost smirked at him as he finally clutched onto the receiver. 'Just breathe. You can do this.' Joseph thought to himself as the phone actually started to ring.
"Hello. This is Joseph Joestar. How can I help you?" Joseph answered the phone without thinking.
"Oh Joseph! I'm so glad you're alive!" Replied Suzie on the phone.
"I was so worried when the insurance company called. Are you okay? Did anything happen to Jotaro? On the claim it said there was a truck collision…" Suzie went on and on describing the accident that Speedwagon Foundation omitted which Joestar got injured. He twirled the telephone cord as he heard her older voice soothe his ailing nerves. 'Such a breathe of fresh air..'
"Joseph? Joseph!" Suzie nervously inquired at the silence at the receiving end of her call.
"Yes my love?" He asked as his head was lulled by her loving voice.
"Were you even listening to me? I feel like I was talking all by myself again. Is this the thanks I get for constantly worrying about an old geezer like'"
"- I love you too Q." Joseph interrupted her rant.
The phone line was silent for a moment, as light grumbling and mumbling mentioning something about a jerk was heard and finally a sigh.
"What did you do this time?" Suzie asked sternly, knowing her husband horrendous track record.
She was met with Joseph's nervous laughter, which usually was a bad sign entailing he was trying to smooth things down with a joke or some outrageous story. Sweetly she asked him what was wrong and then all the laughing stopped.
"I used hamon." Joseph admitted.
Silence once again was the dominant exchange between the two in their call, but Joseph could feel all the way over in Japan the fires of wrath that were rapidly replacing his usually loving and docile wife.
"Was it that Tomoko woman?" Suzie asked as she grind her teeth in fury. To this he gave her a simple no, which only angered her more.
"Then why the hell did you break your 10-year-old promise to me?" Suzie asked her now terrified husband.
"Q, listen…" Joseph tried to explain when Shizuka started wailing. The old man walked over to the crib still holding onto the phone.
"There, there sweetie. Papa here. So like I was saying, I have this baby-"
"What? Another one! That better be Jolyne cause Josuke's too young to have a baby." Mrs. Joestar roared at her husband.
"Um no love, she's ours. I um saved her after a series of events, she got attached to me, her parents were killed-"
"Joseph! Are you even listening to yourself right now? You're 79 and still aching for children. Who's going to take care of her? Did you even think of that-"
"Q. I used my Hamon, so I can be with her for a bit longer-" Joseph tried to explain as he fed Shizuka her bottle.
"So then what happens to me? I've already tried my best to age along side you, and kept myself as healthy as possible. Joseph, we were supposed to grow old together. We were supposed to live happily retired, not raise another child." Suzie complained.
"That's not fair! Her parents were murdered! She became a stand user, who's completely invisible. I am the only one who can take care of her. You are not Lisa Lisa! You can't tell me what to do, only Erina had that power over me. Face the facts. I am Shizuka's new father and that's final! I'm registering her as a Joestar." Joseph explained to his wife clearly upset at her lack of empathy for his new daughter, but he was going to put his foot down.
"She disappears quickly Q, I was hit by that truck looking for her. Shizuka is alone and terrified. Jotaro and Josuke couldn't find her, the city quarantined the area that she made invisible! I had no other option, Hermit Purple was useless and my Hamon could locate her easily. So before you tell me, I did this to you, DIO did this to my family!" Joseph tried to reason with her silence, but it was getting him no sympathy.
"Look Suzie, you can help me by signing her birth certificate when I get home, or if you continue to be stubborn I can ask Josuke's mom. Whichever choice, it is up to you." Joseph threatened his wife as he burped his beloved daughter.
"Don't you even dare see that woman in your condition! I wont have my husband stolen from me over some imaginary baby." Suzie jealously said as she thought about Tomoko falling in love with the possibly younger looking Joseph.
Wiping up spittle, he sighed whispering into the phone that she wasn't imaginary. Shizuka is a beautiful child that can laugh, giggle and poop her diapers like a champ. She was vulnerable and abandoned only by the death of her parents. Her invisibility would cause so much turmoil amongst the media, her powers would most likely get her trapped in a scientific facility for life. It tore his heart in half thinking onfthe life that awaited his little one in the event he gave her away.
"Dear, please. I know she's real. I heard her cry. Maybe we can get Jotaro to take adopt her and you can spoil her like a grandfather instead." Suzie once again tried to get her husband back into the realm of logical thinking.
"I love you Q. I know you want the best for us, but Jotaro is a horrible father. Do you know how many times Jolyne calls me asking for her father? Too many! I've tried to force the phone on him, but he runs off. How many summers had he just dropped her home, as he ran off to do research? I haven't taken custody of my great granddaughter because it would only enforce that Jotaro could care less about her, so do not ask me to give him another broken child." Joseph complained earnestly.
"I know dear. I'm glad you are well, bring that child back when this is all over. I'm sorry Joseph." Suzie said with a defeated voice.
After an hour of planning and heated discussion the couple decided that they would take in the child and raise her as a pair of loving grandparents, because honestly who would believe that Mrs. Suzie Q Joestar would be able to birth a child at her age?
"Thank you Q. I love you. Have a great morning its time for me to go to bed." Joseph whispered quietly as he finally heard his daughter snore into a deep sleep.
"Yes dear, come back home soon, and stay away from Josuke's mom. I know she reminds you of madam Lisa." Tears clouded her tired as she said goodbye.
Before he could protest, Suzie hung up, leaving him uncomfortable with himself for thinking that Tomoko was ever even a possibility. Now that Shizuka was fast asleep, changed and fed, he had to get out of his sweaty tight clothes from when he was about half a foot shorter. A nice warm shower would possibly erase some of the stress from the eventful day.
Out of the shower he looked at the mirror, amazed at how good he looked. His muscles were bulbous and tight like they once were when they fought DIO, his hair was now gray instead of white, his vision was so much clearer and his back was no longer hunched. 'I forgot what a stud I used to be.' Joseph chuckled to himself as he wrapped a towel over his lower half.
Just as he was about to brush his teeth, there was a knock on the door. 'It's probably Jotaro, he's gonna have a heart attack when he see's me.' He laughed at the thought of Jotaro gaping mouth and slight blush from him answering him in just a towel.
"Jotaro, foxy grandpa's been waiting for your return-" Joseph gulped suddenly as he opened the door for a stunned Tomoko.
Looking him up and down, Tomoko held onto the doorknob as her life deepened on it. This was not the decrepit old man that Josuke had told her about. He looked just as good as she remembered. His green eyes greeted her at first with a flirty glance, but then shone with horror. Joseph tried to close the door in her face, but she would have none of that. With the struggling of trying to keep the door open both fell on the floor.
Tomoko's hand was on his chest, as he held onto her waist, so she would not fall onto the ground. Her leg brushed against his muscular calf as he heard her breathing come out in light pants. She was still completely enamored with him, just like Suzie and Josuke hinted. Her perfume still smelled of cherry blossoms and her hair still smelled of wild jasmine flowers. The tension hiss body remembered and she leaned in to the lips of her green-eyed Adonis.
"Yare yare daze Ji ji." Jotaro Kujo exclaimed in confused disbelief.
