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The following is a fan-based

FICTION

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All Parts of the JJBA are all owned by Hirohiko Araki.

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Chapter 11: Ninth Mantra! Progress in Understanding!

"I still don't understand- why did this girl become your concern, dear?"

This discussion was as difficult as he had expected. Maybe more if Jotaro realized how awkward it had to sound to someone that didn't know the full context of the situation he was presenting.

While his wife was someone that would give him absolute trust when he pressed on a matter, there was always a sliver of doubt that would come up and turn things complicated for him. Not because the woman was in the wrong with her concerns, but rather he was unable to express the truth without putting his close family in harm's way.

Especially now that DIO was back as a Servant, his paranoia was going through an all-high in an effort to get secondary issues solved as quickly as possible before he focused his entire attention on the troublesome threat.

"While working with Gramps, I found out that the child was being abused," Jotaro finally replied with a quiet voice, trying his best to keep the discussion away from Sakura. With the child currently busy drawing things together with Caster, it was only for the best to not drag her in so soon. First, he needed to make his wife accept this sudden development, and that was no easy feat in itself.

"Abused? You mean that she was-"

"Yes," He cut her before she could have finished that question. "While I understand your concerns, I wish to make it clear that I wouldn't have taken this idea without a serious thought behind it."

"I know, but I… I want to understand why you think adopting her would be the best option."

A sigh, then his stare moved away from the Servant and the child.

"She was originally sold to the family that abused her. Her original family is still there, and they own enough wealth to take her back from the local orphanage if they wanted," The Stand User elaborated, trying to give most of the truth while stripping it of any supernatural event or precise detail his wife could've used to to trace people and locations through a research. "Her brother, the one that was actually from the abusive family, will be taken in by the old man. I don't think I need to remind you that-"

"Grandmother dearest would love to take in a young boy to pamper and spoil. I remember your mother being rather fussy about it since it sounded like her own mother would've preferred a male child."

"She didn't let go of that grudge until Gramps decided to invite them both out for a 'date'. I swear that was the-"

"Most adorable and hilarious thing Joseph could've done," Lena interrupted before he could've offered something less flattering. "I don't want to poke at it once again, but maybe you should really ask your grandfather how he managed his family when-"

"I will," Jotaro replied curtly, really unhappy of being reminded of the fact that, while he was clueless how to schedule work, secret work, and private life without messing one or all of them, his grandfather had successfully worked through this issue for decades.

It wasn't anything he had about the old man, but the younger man really didn't want to be reminded how inexperienced and deadbeat he was going to sound by asking that kind of question.

"I sure hope you will give it a try, dear. I really want you to put aside some of your concerns and give it a shot," The woman scolded softly. "Do it for Jolyne and… this girl."

He restrained himself from flinching at that, knowing full well that he couldn't say no to this now that his daughter was brought up. And there was also now his new charge to take under consideration about this delicate matter.

Sakura was still suffering from her experience at the Matou, and it would've been foolish of him to not pay more attention to her now that he was considering taking her in. The child deserved some happiness, and not just from the likes of a mother or a sibling. She also needed a father. The girl needed a full family experience to grow out of that trauma.

"I understand," He replied with a little more determination, blinking as his wife sighed in relief.

"Now I feel at ease in knowing that now you will pay more attention to it," Lena commented mirthfully. "But now that we have settled about this subject, I was actually thinking of talking with the girl. Her name is Sakura, right?"

"Yes," Jotaro muttered. "If you want I can get her on the phone now. She is currently drawing-"

"Please do, dear."

Sighing before turning once more to look at the two other occupants of the room, the man decided to approach the child instead of actually snapping her out of her happy moments that suddenly. The girl tensed up just a little as he tapped at her shoulder, soon looking away from her half-done drawing and offering her the phone.

"There is someone that wishes to know you. She is… nice."

The plum-haired child blinked at the curt explanation, but she nodded at it before taking the phone in her hands and bringing it to her right ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I'm Lenna. Are you little Sakura?"

The kid frowned at the feminine voice, nodding to herself at the unexpected question.

"Yes."

The woman sighed mirthfully. "Nice to meet you, dear. Jotaro told me that you are a pretty girl."

An awed look replaced the confused one on Sakura's face.

"Am I?"

"I'm quite sure of it, sweetie. In fact, when I saw a picture of you I almost exclaimed at how pretty you looked."

Her lips twitched, and her legs kicked a little at hearing those nice words. It reminded her of a time when she was happier and things weren't that… unpleasant. But now the time with the Matou was over and her new caretaker wasn't someone that she was unhappy about. Quite the opposite if she had to be genuinely honest.

"Thank you," Sakura replied politely.

"Aw, and polite too. Can I ask you a few simple questions, Sakura-chan?"

The girl frowned at the request, but until now she had no reason to doubt the good-will displayed by the kind lady. Plus, Jotaro had said she was nice and… he had been telling her only the truth until now.

"Yes."

"Okay then. Jotaro told me that you were drawing something, can you tell me what it is?"

Relief washed over her little worry. The questions weren't as private as she had expected and… she was actually interested in knowing the perspective from someone else that wasn't Caster. While the brunette was nice too, she was also… too energetic, and quite simplistic with her answers.

"I was drawing a… Koinobori."

"Really? That's a pretty fish, and one that can be colored in many beautiful ways. Did you know that?"

...Was color also important? Was there a set of rules to follow about it?

These were the questions that suddenly erupted at that simple query. It was her first time she drew something like that. Usually it was cat-faces or cute puppies, but ever since Jotaro had given her a book about fishes, Sakura had decided to try drawing some of those.

The starfish was easy, but the result was nonetheless satisfying to see. There were so many creatures to try her hand with, but the koinobori was something that she could remember from her… early childhood. It was indeed a pretty fish like Lena had told her being, but the girl never understood why it was the case.

"I'm still drawing it."

"Oh really? Are you making sure it looks the prettiest?" The woman inquired once again.

"Yes." She started to hum happily after saying that, a tiny smile appearing on her face as she was growing happier with the way the conversation was going. While it was confusingly difficult to get the proper outline of the carp's body, the fins, the eye and the mouth were coming along quite well.

It was definitely more complex to what she had tried to draw before… and the child was glad that Caster was there to cheer her up whenever she needed to go back and fix any mistakes she had left behind for a time.

"By the way, sweetie, did Jotaro tell you about… what happens once he is done there in Fuyuki?"

The question was more important than the previous ones, but still far from becoming a reason of concern for the girl.

"He said that… I was going to live with him and his family," Sakura replied, completely clueless of the fact that the man wasn't planning to keep her just as a ward.

This ignorance wasn't born just by the Stand User's lack of a proper explanation on the matter, but also by the child's own unwillingness to even consider the chances of her being adopted as his daughter. It would've been nice, but surely she wasn't going to be taken in like that, especially with how much of a burden she had been so early on.

"Yes. I'm sure Jolyne is going to love growing with a polite and nice big sister."

Sakura stopped doing other things beyond listening to Lena's words the moment she realized what she had just heard. Her full focus slowly shifted away from the mostly-done drawing as she found herself perplexed by that bizarre claim.

"Big… sister?"

"Didn't Jotaro tell you that… I believe you should ask him that, actually." Lena pointed out quietly. "Wouldn't be nice for him to be let off the hook for not explaining the full context to you, honey."

Sakura followed her comment, turning her stare to look at the tall man's face in an effort to gain some understanding of that absurd possibility. Jotaro looked down with a surprised but unsure look, and she knew that something was indeed off about the matter. But what was she missing in this situation, and why did she feel a strange squeeze around her heart at what she had yet to learn about.

Ultimately, the marine biologist sighed and nodded to her. "When I said that you were coming to live with my family, I meant that I'm planning to adopt you as my daughter."

…

What?

"B-But I'm… I'm not..."

Her eyes felt blurry, and soon her stare rushed to the floor as she tried to reach out with her closed palm. Tears, she was crying. But why was she crying if… if this was just a simple decision.

Why did she feel the need to tremble at the news and… allow the nice man to lift her up and pull her in a warm hug. Burrowing her face onto his white coat, Sakura let out a couple of sniffles as the man started to pat and caress behind her head.

There were no words, just a pleasant silence that allowed her to think even more about what was happening. Why was she crying when… she should be feeling happy?

Something pounded within her mind, some forgotten memories that were forcibly pushed away when those became synonymous to the fact her parents had… left her at the hand of the horrible grandfather.

Now she was no longer fearing what kind of terrible torture she had to go through. And she cried at the chance of finally realizing that now there was no possible way for her to be hurt like that once more. Not when there was Jotaro around. Not when she was going to leave this place once this 'work' was over.

And as that realization finally drove her poor mind to exhaustion, making her slowly go limp within the embrace, Sakura's eyes fluttered open just for a couple of seconds while her consciousness faltered into oblivion.

It was just enough to see something like a spirit float over the man's head. Hair flowing backward as if hit by a constant wind, the strange spirit had a light-blue skin with a couple of light-violet and green sections all over his face. The only element that really got her full attention as she succumbed to mental exhaustion was… the kind blue eyes that she had seen in only a single person until that moment.

A yawn, through the shaking, and soon Sakura fell asleep with the thought of a guardian angel standing above her and… her new father.

And with the child slumping on him, Jotaro sighed in relief as he felt incredibly worried for a moment at that sudden reaction. At first he thought she was feeling sick, but the way she behaved was more of a starving person being finally given some good food to eat, but purer and more intense in nature.

Picking the phone that had been dropped on the table, the man sighed as he heard some shuffling on the other side of the call.

"Lena."

"J-Jotaro, what happened? I heard sobbing, the phone falling and-"

"Little Sakura was… overwhelmed by the news," The marine biologist explained, trying to reassure his worried wife. "Right now she is in my arms, asleep and… still crying a little bit."

"Poor dear, I wasn't expecting her to react this strongly to it," The woman replied. "Are the bastards behind this behind the bars? Did you get the cops to act and-"

"They will not harm anyone ever again," Jotaro guaranteed with a calm voice. "I made sure of it myself."

"I'm glad to hear that. Still, I hope you're going to return soon and bring her out of that place. While I can tell you're doing well right now with her, I don't want her to be hurt by staying for too long in that city," The concerned mother added. "When will you be done with your job?"

"I think I will be back in less than a week. I'm quite certain it will be over by that time," The Stand User answered with a sigh. "I will make sure to deal with any nuisances that could delay that expectation by even a single minute."

"Understood. I will contact Joseph to see if he needs my signature to confirm the paperwork about Sakura."

"So, you are certain of-"

"That child deserves a family. While I'm still confused by many things, I can recognize a girl in need if I hear one. She is not only starving for attention, but also suffering from whatever ordeal she had to go through."

"I will see for the old man to have the proper documentation ready as soon as possible."

The call ended after a little while, with both Caster and her Master taking a seat by the bed while letting Sakura rest some more through that emotional breakdown. Pink eyes were shining warmly onto the unconscious child, and Jotaro soon allowed for the Servant to take the girl on her arms.

The day was still long and… he had to kill that effeminate vampire once again. Why the hell couldn't his life be spared by the madness that was Dio Brando for once?

With these annoying thoughts in mind, the Marine Biologist went to check on his grandfather for any news. Father Kotomine had yet to contact them, but his son had mentioned that a truce was now made official against the intrusion of DIO's Master.

Whoever they were, Jotaro was not going to spare anything in making sure they didn't go through with whatever madness they were trying to go through with. Not until he was capable of breathing and punching.

"You should hand her over to me," Francesca muttered as she distractedly worked on the umpteenth carcass she was trying to prepare for the important ritual. "Her Soul is strong and will make a fine asset for our plans."

DIO ignored his Master, just like he had done in the last few hours without any grand action ever since he was allowed to slaughter Lancer and his Master. Boredom had been rising to an all-time high, and it would be a lie to say that he was happy of being confined in the most decrepit place in the entire city.

He was in Japan and… he could barely move around to gain info on his nemesis. Jotaro was certainly learning of his return, and the blond vampire knew that it was just a matter of when the man was going to strike at him during a step in his ambitious plan. Or rather Francesca's plan.

As much as DIO wanted to kill Jotaro, the fact that this opportunity was offered after being enslaved to a deranged and untrustworthy individual made the entire situation less apetible than it should have been.

Her insanity was well beyond any of his loyal supporters, which was the reason why he had lied to her about the presence of cells from his cult within this nation. His men were all around the world, but were rendered useless, if not a set of unpleasant pawns to have with the possibility of being stolen from his clutches by the devious witch.

If DIO had met Francesca years ago, things would've been less amiable between the two.

Too unstable, and driven by twisted emotions rather than a degree of logic. While it was true that many of his servants had served him loyally and sometimes even fanatically, the vampire would have never allowed such a troublesome element in his circle. And now that he had finally found something for him to pass time with, the man was growing even more impatient at her childish effort to gain control of his… jester.

"Little Rin is my… guest. And I will not allow her to be treated as cattle for you to use with your pets, Master."

Francesca pouted in annoyance, muttering something that sounded a lot like 'for their abs' or something like that. Meanwhile a certain little girl was frowning at him as she sat down on the ground right in front of his chair.

Rin Tohsaka. She was barely seven when she reached upon his simple hideout. She was a stubborn child, particularly infuriating at times, but overall an amusing plaything to use for comedic purposes when the urge to be entertained came to ring at his head. She had a temper that reminded him so closely of a younger version of himself, but she was a far cry from the legitimate fury that burned him into taking this arduous path to reach the Heavens.

With the creation of monstrosities between animals and humans not satisfying him as much as it had been back when he was 'younger', the little girl quickly became someone that reminded him of a younger Jonathan if the pathetic man had been a woman.

Jojo had been arrogant when they first met. He also used to be quick to jump the gun, to strike without planning, but worst of it all spoiled rotten by a society that had favored him to have the greatest of lives without having to put any hard work into it.

His first ambition of stealing the Joestar's fortune was terribly materialistic, and the ultimate proof that his truest weakness was the humanity he had disposed of when consumed by the stone mask. Less morality, more power, and more ambition.

DIO was set to become the greatest being on the planet… or that was what he thought at the time when he was blissfully unaware of this 'secret layer' of magical beings and users. Magecraft was a concept as absurd as fascinating, and for once DIO felt the need to expand his knowledge on the matter.

The chances of improving his Made in Heaven Ritual sounded as enticing as plausible. Considering that the main elements of his original plan stemmed from the application of universal logic through the creation of a Stand capable of achieving such a feat through a set of numerous tasks and requirements, it was only legitimate for the man to study and hope for a simplification of the dangerously-lengthy ritual that Pucci was meant to go through.

The priest wasn't going to fail him. He had educated him well enough to not mess things up in the ritual. The stakes were claimed, the strength was displayed, and he knew that it was just a short amount of time before his friend noticed his resurface.

He just was too attentive to miss any telling signs of vampirism, and with the local news showing the desecration of the graves in Fuyuki, surely he was going to come and assist him against the Joestars… and Francesca herself.

While he was glad to be back, he was also irked by what the young woman had planned to go through. It felt too 'flashy' and incredibly dangerous for them to deal with, and while she was absolutely certain of her success, DIO decided to trust more his reading on some tarot cards to check how their luck was than his master's confidence on the matter.

Speaking of cards, the Avenger Servant took immense pleasure in 'reading' little Rin's future about the situation.

He wasn't going as far as to call out only deadly scenarios, knowing that if he ended up breaking her mind with his malicious personality, then he was going to need to find someone as hilarious if not more than her. And that wasn't the kind of thing the man wanted to waste his time on. He was a mastermind, not someone that could allow himself to walk around to fish funny jesters for him to be amused about.

So by displaying just the proper amount of despair, DIO managed to get the reaction he wanted to see out of that poor brat. A sense of determination that seemed to transcend the mere interest of saving a friend, or to go back to her family.

Rin Tohsaka was a battery of amusing reactions that reached out a sense of twisted amusement within himself. A toy that he was just chewing softly on, knowing that the noise it was doing with so little activity was more than enough to soothe his attentive ears.

And that was if he ignored the frequent efforts to get close to him and attack him again. The punch had been born from surprise as he thought the child was capable of making up a simple plan of actions to get through that simple loop. Yet she proved him wrong by striking him, albeit without results.

She was too weak, and he was the strongest. It was like a tiny fly slamming against a massive boulder, with her silly antics failing to even come closer to become dangerous for him to be afraid of. In fact, he was mostly endeared by her drive.

What pushed her to be this much of a pest? Could it be that, despite her snappy personality compared to Jonathan, she was compelled by the same sense of morality like him? Would she lose it if the 'only' reason that had driven her was gone before her eyes?

That last question had happened in his mind when he managed to find this 'Kotone'. The little girl, which had no magical potential, was long dead as her soul was quickly used by Francesca to fuel one of the many monstrous creatures she was creating from the corpses recovered at the graveyard.

The logic behind this devious plan was more akin to Frankenstein's own ordeal rather than his personal experiments in reanimating 'improved' monsters. The souls of the children were tainted with bits of her own essence, put through some 'degradation', and finally shoved inside the older bodies.

An army of loyal zombies that were meant to work as their cannon fodders for the little siege they were planning to get going quite soon. An attack to demolish the castle that held the Lesser Grail, a particular tool in the completion of the Holy Grail War.

When DIO asked what Francesca's wish was, her answer got him to snarl and look at her with a greater glare than before.

I want DIO to fight against Jotaro. Forever… eternally~! For your wills to burn and be replaced by senseless thoughts of fighting, without a reason known to both!

The prospect was far from pleasant, but still the Grail should've been powerful enough for him to make his own wish when the time came to express it. His chances of success depended how he was handling the suspicious elements he was throwing at Francesca, and how quickly he could muster his Stand to stop her from ruining his chances to be brought back.

Pucci was going to ascend and gain the ultimate Stand… only for DIO to take that powerful instrument of the heavens and allow it to give his own Stand the capacity to do even more than planned. To become one with the endless flow of dimension.

To go beyond the natural limits of a single soul.

Just as he thought about that peculiar topic, Rin decided to go for another attempt at hurting him. He was distracted, and quite unwilling to spare much interest in what the child was trying to accomplish through that foolish endeavor.

Preparing her kick to deliver the umpteenth attack, when she struck DIO actually felt something. Pain.

The suddenness of the emotion almost made him jump, with his mind forcefully pulled out of that deep state of mind. His right leg jolted, the sensation swiftly spreading all over the limb the moment the hit connected.

Rin backed away as soon as he reacted, a shocked look on her face disproving that this was actually something she had planned to happen and… in the panic, she dropped a tiny yellow stone that she had been holding on her red palm.

Eyes widening in a mix of curiosity and confusion, his Stand swiftly materialized to get hold of that simple stone. A sizzling sound soon ensued, with his fingers slowly suffering some burning effect as ｢The World｣'s own digits were enduring that kind of sensation first because of the… gem.

"Master, I have a question."

Francesca hummed. "Can it wait? This dear is a little feisty-"

"Can gems be used to store sunlight?" He asked nonetheless. "Or perhaps replicate the effects of it?"

The white-haired woman stopped, actually giving him a look before noticing the little smoke coming from the tiny stone her Servant's Stand was holding.

"Technically yes. It's rare and limited… but I guess Rin-tan's family specializes in Jewelcraft."

He blinked, the pain soon forgotten as ｢The World｣ shattered the stone with a single 'MUDA'. With tiny shards falling to the ground, Rin's jaws dropped some more as she felt the vampire's attention on herself too.

"You tried to do it again," The man lamented, but there was no annoyance in his voice. "You feinted weakness to strike me while I was the most vulnerable, lulled in the fake chance of you being harmless."

…

"Speak the truth. Or else I will be more than happy to let Francesca make use of your magical prowess for our plans."

A nervous gulp later, the child decided to speak up.

"...Yes."

His lips twitched, his mind marveling over the fact he had been tricked twice with the same trick. And by a young girl that didn't seem much on first impressions because of her interesting personality. What a peculiar discovery.

"And do you feel like you accomplished something out of this flimsy effort?"

…

She gave a tiny smile, one that had DIO looking incredibly fascinated.

"Yes."

He blinked. "How?"

…

"You yelped."

The vampire frowned. "A bold claim-"

"You actually did that, Lord DIO-sama," Francesca remarked. "In fact, I almost started to chuckle at that lovely noise."

Gritting his teeth, the blond refused to address his Master any further for today. Still, he had to deal with Rin and her successful attack, and how it would've killed him if she had decided to strike him on his face instead of leg.

The limb was slowly recovering, replacing the dying skin with newly-made one through his regeneration. It would take a while, but at least he hadn't lost his leg just like last time.

Rin's blue eyes were flashing a frightened sense of understanding, the girl perhaps realizing just now how fruitless bothered her plan and her response were compared to the Servant's might. But instead of exploiting this chance to cruelly punish her 'misbehaving', DIO decided that this was a sign that he should be aiming to do something else with the child. Something less dreadful than anything he had come up until now.

"Little Rin… where do you want to eat dinner?"

… "W-What?"

Francesca's amused howling echoed across the hideout, leaving a confused Rin to make sense of that absurdly positive outcome from her assassination attempt on the vampire.

AN

Sakura can now see Stands because her 'burden', the one thing that restrained her freedom of soul is now gone. The trauma persists, but the bright light of a better future now helps her to see clearly what's up ahead and what she has to do to 'preserve it'.

DIO's real weakness is being cocky. Having a formidable Stand, he is unable to take seriously most of the threats ahead of him. But when Jotaro appears, he will have to face two possible choices during that encounter. One of which is more amusing than the other.

REVIEW Q&A!

Fall2Glory: I believe it would've been a Saver. He still wishes… to own everything. In EoH, OH!Dio was mentioned to have grown interested in taking over the entire jojoverse and more after Valentine appeared to him.

AzureSkyD: He can't turn in a beast, and no, he can't make Alters.

The Keeper of Worlds: As usual.

Technospiller: He might. I'm not 100% sure right now. I've plans, but those might change if I find that situation a little over the top about DIO.