ReBirth

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure

Chapter 3 – Once I Had a Love, and it Was a Gas, P.2

'And we go slowly,' Jennet thought as she carefully walked along the raised wall. Cyndi followed beside her on the ground, a distraught look on her face. "You can stop looking like that, Cyndi. I am not going to fall!"

"Miss Jennet, I wish you wouldn't do this!" The other girl responded, wincing at Jennet pretending to stumble. "Oh, now I see why no one else takes care of you!"

The brunette laughed loudly at the maid's exaggerated pout. Only like this could they speak freely with one another, when there weren't any other ears around. "You jest, I am sure," the girl returned, turning her attention back to traipsing across the brick surface.

The early fall air rustled through the trees, bringing with it a slight chill. The wind was soft and easy. The chilling promise of winter wasn't quite there yet.

Jennet attempted to restrain her grin and lept from the raised wall.

Hanako followed close behind the other three Stand users, hands shoved in her pockets. They had spent the past thirty minutes discussing a strategy for when they encountered the enemy. Or, well, Soibhan and Fleetwood had done most of the talking. Noriaki – or Kakyoin, as Soibhan was adamant about calling him – had simply stood off to the side, looking rather uncomfortable.

Which Hanako supposed she could understand; back in high school she had never been very fond of group discussions. Of course that was due to constantly moving, but regardless.

"Hana, come here real quick!"

The brunette snapped her head up, blinking owlishly as Fleetwood waved her over. The woman had stepped away from their two new companions, who kept their eyes on an abandoned-looking building. "What is it?" Hanako muttered as she approached the woman.

"I want you to stay at a safe distance, yeah?" Fleetwood replied, arms crossed. Her brow furrowed in thought. She directed her gaze towards the abandoned building, worrying her lip before continuing. "These enemy Stand users are dangerous…. We know one is there for sure, but they might be working with another. We just can't be sure."

"But why do I need to stay back? I thought you wanted me to help."

The blonde grumbled under her breath. "I know what I said, okay? But, it's just –" she groaned. "Part of my job is to keep you safe. With us still not knowing Ace of Wands' abilities, it's just too reckless throwing you in to the middle of a fight. Let's leave it to Noriaki-san and Soibhan."

Hanako felt what must have been an ugly expression twist her face. Like hell she wanted to stay back. If there was even the possibility that these Stand users were the cause of her nightmares – as Fleetwood had mused earlier that day – she wanted to be involved in the fight. Betraying her determination, Ace of Wands trilled almost angrily behind her.

Taking a breath, Hanako turned her gaze towards the ground before nodding sharply. "Alright," she muttered, balling her hands in to fists. "I'll stay out of this."

Fleetwood released a breath, holding a hand over her heart. "Thanks, kid," she laughed, ruffling Hanako's hair.

The brunette sputtered and jumped away from the woman, pouting and crossing her arms. "Yeah, yeah…." She muttered, grumbling some more as she watched the older woman return to speaking with the other two. Slinking to lean against a building, Hanako called Ace of Wands back to her.

The cloaked figure trilled in question, cocking her head to the side.

"Just what can you do anyways?" The teen muttered, narrowing her eyes and leaning in to the Stand's face. Ace trilled again, leaning in as well. Hanako jumped slightly as her nose bumped in to the mostly featureless face of the Stand. Recovering, she leaned back and rubbed at her nose. "Besides reaching high shelves…."

Ace of Wands trilled sadly at that, shoulders sagging under her cloak.

Sighing softly, the brunette reached out and smoothed her hand over Ace's head. "It's okay. Guess it's my fault for not wondering about your abilities sooner…. Didn't even know what you really were…."

"If you want to figure out her abilities, try searching your mind."

Hanako jumped at the sudden, yet fairly quiet, voice. Kakyoin looked a bit startled himself, quickly composing himself before continuing.

"My Stand did not materialize the full extent of his abilities until I began communicating with him."

"What's your Stand anyways?"

"Oh, of course," the young man closed his eyes, a figure materializing beside him. It was green in color, looking like a strange combination between a space man and a slime creature. It's eyes were golden and bug like, and the green portions of its body were covered in an almost off white armor-looking substance. The Stand's legs seemed to fade in and out of existence, going between two regular legs and what might have been a tail.

"Hierophant Green, meet Miss Hanako Garner."

The Stand bowed, causing its user to roll his eyes. Hanako chuckled at the minor exchange, laughing again as Ace of Wands returned the bow.

"Ace of Wands, meet Mr. Noriaki Kakyoin." She returned, smirking slightly. "I have to say, your Stand is much cooler than mine."

Kakyoin jumped slightly at that, a slight flush rising to his cheeks. "Hierophant has been my closest friend since childhood…. I have to say I am rather proud of his abilities."

"Actually offensive, right? Fleetwood mentioned that you and Soibhan have offensive Stands, unlike her own and mine."

Kakyoin nodded, cheeks still flushed. He was obviously easily flustered; Hanako wondered just how old he was. "Hierophant is indeed an offensive Stand. I am proud to say that in any battle I have been in, no enemy has been able to block an attack."

"Nice," Hanako grinned, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'll be putting my faith in you for this battle then, Mister No Misses."

"So they've found us?"

"It would seem," the girl responded, lowering her binoculars. She brushed her black hair behind her shoulder and smirked. "Four for the price of one, right?"

"You're far too cocky, Blondie," the other replied, the much younger looking figure crossing their arms. "He wouldn't have sent these four if he didn't have faith in their abilities."

Blondie, the black haired girl ironically enough, shrugged. "Calm down, Soft Cell. I can handle this by myself if you're going to chicken out. Just wait, I'll get that American and his foundations will be shaken."

"Hmph," Soft Cell rolled their eyes, staying in the shadows of the mostly abandoned room. "One prophetic vision – from someone we might not be able to trust – and you're ready to start a crusade."

"We all want to take this demon down. Now get out of here if you're going to be in my way."

Soft Cell nodded sharply, turning to leave. "I'll come collect your body when you lose."

Blondie's lip curled. She bit her finger hard enough to draw blood and called out Heart of Glass. "I'll prove that little bastard wrong!"

"If I have to stay outside why do you get to go in?" Hanako muttered crossly, replaying her conversation with Fleetwood from a moment ago. "Just stay out here," she muttered, voice going higher in an attempt to imitate the older woman. "We can't have you getting hurt, you hear?"

The brunette snorted, thinking back to all the times she had gotten hurt while in grade school. She'd gotten in to more fights than she could remember – although, to be fair, most ended in her getting her ass beat. The point was, though, that she could handle herself. Although, those fights had been without the involvement of Stands….

Hanako groaned and shoved her body against the building behind her. She leveled a glare at the fairly empty street, watching the way the sunlight filtered through the mostly beige landscape. It was about early evening if she had to guess, and, this being an abandoned part of town, there wasn't much activity.

Ace of Wands materialized beside the girl, trilling in question and cocking her head to the side. "What's wrong," she seemed to ask, jagged mouth hanging open ever so slightly in an imitation of expression.

Hanako pouted even more, brushing her Stand away with a sigh. Ace had always been overly concerned, ever since she had manifested when Hanako was around ten years old. At that time, the brunette had still been bouncing around foster homes, some worse than others. She'd blamed the stress on Ace's manifestation, although the creature being just another imaginary friend was proved false fairly quickly. Though that label had stuck around until Fleetwood had explained the existence of Stands to her…..

Ace trilled again, nudging her more insistently.

"What is it?" Hanako finally asked, looking up from the ground. The Stand moved into a position that was mostly in front of the girl, almost as though shielding her. The dark haired girl furrowed her brow and looked around for just what Ace would have been considering a threat. The only person of interest was a smaller person, most likely a boy, who stood across the street from her.

And, really, she wouldn't have thought anything of him had it not been for the…. Well, it was hard to explain. He just had this aura, a thick sense of malice that hung around him. Hanako felt a shiver run down her spine as she locked eyes with the boy.

He wore what looked like regular street clothes, tattered blue jeans and a faded tee shirt. Those bright, heavy looking sneakers so many boys wore back in the States were visible under the hem of the oversized jeans. Finally, his strange colored hair – a mix of different shades of green, from what Hanako could see in the fading sunlight – was obscured by a dark colored baseball cap that the boy wore backwards.

"Who're you supposed to be?" Hanako called, pushing herself flush with the wall. She shoved her hands in her pockets and leveled her best glare. Maybe if she looked intimidating enough she could scare the boy off. "A manga character?"

"Your name is Hanako Garner, correct?"

"What's it to you?" Hanako shot back, trying to mask the second chill that raced down her spine. That malicious, menacing aura had almost deepened when the boy had spoken her name. It was almost as though a dark cloud had rolled over them, though she could still see the slowly setting sun in the sky.

The boy cracked his knuckles, a smirk slowly stretching his lips. "I need you to come with me, okay? If you don't fight, you won't get hurt." He scoffed out a laugh, that smirk turning into a vicious grin. "I know you can't use your Stand!"

Hanako sneered, removing her hands from her pockets and dropping in to the best fighting stance she could given her position against the wall. "I can still kick your ass, kid!"

"The name's Soft Cell," the boy returned, dropping in to a stance of his own. "And you don't know what you've gotten yourself in to."

It was a strange memory, one that she hadn't expected to come in the middle of a fight. Moments after his quick introduction, Soft Cell had called forth his own Stand. It was a strange, barely humanoid thing called Tainted Love. The color scheme of the Stand was almost as bad as its user's shoes, bright colors that all clashed together as it raced behind her.

Ace of Wands fluttered beside her, batting away the enemy attacks the best she could as Hanako dodged. She knew it probably wasn't the best idea to fight the Stand herself, but if she could get close enough to Soft Cell she might be able to do some damage. It didn't matter that she didn't know Ace's ability…. She could still kick this punk's ass.

But that's where that memory came from, the thought that she wanted to win. The thought that she was, even on some unrecognized level, afraid of what would happen if she so happened to lose. It was a memory of her father, her birth father, who taught her to love the sunlight….

"Papa, what are you doing?"

The man was resting in the center of her Mama's garden, legs crossed over one another and hands placed upon his knees. His face, full of laugh lines and crow's feet, was relaxed and nearly smooth. He always looked younger than what Hanako guessed he was – somehow younger than Mama – but now he looked even younger than usual. His breathing came in an almost rhythmic One-Two, One-Two until she called out to him.

The man jolted, eyes opening wide and almost comically. "Oh, Hana, darling, it's just you. Nearly gave your Papa a heart attack!" He exclaimed, gesturing for the child to join him in the garden. "Here, sit next to me, okay?"

Hanako nodded, flushing in embarrassment at her father's nickname. Her Mama was the one that named her, so that's why it was different than the names of other kids she knew. Shaking off the thought of the teasing she endured because of her name, she quickly trotted over and sat next to her father. Her shorts would probably have grass stains on them afterwards, but that was Papa's problem.

"What were you doing?" She asked again, trying to copy the man's sitting position.

"I was practicing a breathing technique that my grandfather showed me," Papa explained, shutting his eyes again. "It channels the sunlight in to a person's body, giving them all sorts of powers. Since that power transferred to me, it might be in you too."

Hanako gaped, her large eyes widening in childish wonder. "Really? Powers?"

Papa nodded, a small grin quirking his lips. The whole time he kept with that steady, rhythmic breathing. It seemed so natural for him. "Yeah, like killing monsters!"

"No way!" Hanako exclaimed, bouncing in place. "Can you teach me? Please, Papa, I wanna have cool powers like you do!"

The older man laughed heartily, finally opening his eyes again. "It can be tough to learn, are you sure you're up for the task?"

Suddenly serious, with a mood change common in most children, the girl nodded. It was almost funny, the grave expression on her childish face. "I'm ready."

"Alright then, that's my girl! So, we can start with you coping my breathing, and feeling the sunlight's energy coursing through you."

She hadn't thought of that in a long time. Even though she still loved being in the sunlight, she hadn't thought of that magical power her father had spoken of so long ago…

'How did that breathing go,' she thought, trying to remember the correct rhythm through the adrenaline as she continued dodging Tainted Love. One, Two, One, Two, the breath came staggered, a poor imitation of the smooth rhythm her father had. Regardless, an almost pins and needles feeling coursed through her, the feeling weak but there nonetheless. Hoping something was happening, she returned to darting across the street, directly towards Soft Cell.

The boy's eyes widened in shock. He apparently hadn't thought she'd rush him.

Breathing out of her mouth, the girl could almost taste the sunlight. She reeled her arm back and felt something akin to ripples running through water run down her arm. "Take that!" She exclaimed, shocked to see a small amount of light emanating from her fist.

Soft Cell tried to block the punch but failed, a strange ripple effect carrying from Hanako's fist into his face. The boy flew back a way and spat out blood.

"So you've got something else up your sleeve?" He muttered, pushing himself up. "Well, see if that –"

The sound of glass shattering caught both of their attention. What looked like the body of a woman flew out of the second floor window, quickly caught by what Hanako could only assume was Soibhan's Stand.

"Miss Garner, move!"

Looking around for the speaker, Hanako gasped as she was grabbed by Ace of Wands and forcibly moved. They landed behind the speaker, a rather disheveled looking Kakyoin, who nodded in thanks to Ace.

"Hierophant Green," he called out, summoning his Stand. Hanako was a little shocked at how serious the boy was being. He'd seemed so shy earlier, she couldn't quite see him as a fighter. But, he had mentioned never missing in a fight, so perhaps she had misjudged. "Emerald Splash!"

The green Stand formed a diamond with his hands, a bright light forming in the space. True to the attack's name, what looked like emerald water came from the light, shooting towards Soft Cell. Tainted Love had disappeared, perhaps due to its user's shock after Hanako's sunlight punch. The boy moved to dodge but was still caught in the chest by the blow.

His apparently unconscious body flew backwards, slamming into another abandoned building.

"You weren't kidding about not missing, huh?" Hanako muttered, still a bit shocked from the fight.

"Good, you got her," Fleetwood sounded winded as she joined the two teens. "Shouldn't have left you alone… Sorry, Hana."

Hanako shook her head, not quite registering what had just transpired. "Mr. No Misses – I mean Kakyoin really saved my ass there… How did your fight go?"

Fleetwood laughed breathlessly at the brunette's slip up; Hanako could see Kakyoin fiddling with his longer bang, avoiding the compliment. "We got her. Soibhan took her back to the Mansion…. Our boss wanted to speak with her."

Hanako blinked, a little confused by the grave tone the woman's voice had taken on. Shaking her head, the girl asked, "Did you guys see how I punched that guy with sunlight magic?"

Before promptly blacking out.

A/N: So, Hanako can use Hamon and I took the cheap way out of finishing this chapter! Honestly, I'm proud of the fight scene here, since I normally don't write action sequences _

Alas, Jojo comes with action as a prerequisite. I also hope that if you don't already know the songs certain Stands/chapters are named after, you give them a listen! They're all quite good, but I'm somewhat biased towards 80s music.

So, as usual, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! And thanks again to BlueBow for her continued help of beta reading!