"Hey, Giorno?"
"Hm?" The mafia boss turned to see his niece walking towards him, her eyes had a sad look to them. "Jolyne, what's wrong?"
" ...Johnny...he was hurting much worse than I realized...that woman did much more than ruin his life."
Giorno blinked. "How bad...?"
"She made him regret living...she made him wish he was dead."
"Johnny was..."
"No, I don't think he would've gone that far...but he felt that way, yes."
Giorno looked down. "She made him hate himself...he really is more like me than I thought."
"Huh?"
"When my mother neglected me, when she ran off with her friends and left me all alone...I felt like I wasn't good enough for her. I felt like it was my fault that she hated me...I know how he must feel."
"She said that 'God took the wrong son' right to his face."
Giorno blinked, confused. "What does that mean? She only has one son...right?"
"We never told you about Nicholas...did we?"
...
"Back on the trail!" Gyro inhaled with his nose, sniffing the morning air. "Man, it feels good to be back in nature!" Johnny nodded, albeit without the same enthusiasm.
"I wish Diego or Hot Pants could've been with us...or Gramps...or Wekapipo..."
"Oh come on Johnny! It's been awhile since we got a little alone time!"
"You could have phrased that better."
"Yeah...oh who am I kidding, I love messing with you!"
"Yare yare...you're impossible."
"And you love me for it!" The Italian gave him a teasing grin.
Johnny looked to the side, slightly embarrassed. "Yeah, I do..." He muttered. "What was that? I thought I heard something, you'll have to speak up."
"You heard me..."
"I wanna hear it a bit louder..."
"FINE! YOU'RE THE BEST FRIEND I EVER HAD, OKAY?! I'M GLAD I MET YOU!"
Gyro grinned, touched by his friend's admission. "Even over Midoriya, or Jiro?"
"I love them too...but they weren't a part of this. This whole race...it's probably going to be one of the most important events in my life, if I survive it...and you've been by my side, through all the teenaged angst and childhood trauma, and the President worshipping death cult. So...thank you, Gyro...you truly are my best friend."
Okay, if Gyro was touched before, now he was moved. He had never heard Johnny gush like this before...
"I'm not the only one that deserves thanks, Johnny."
"Oh shut up, that's enough mush for today."
Gyro snorted.
"What?"
"Jiro's gonna be jeaaaalooouus!"
"...I take everything back, I hate you."
...
Santana opened his eyes.
He was in a dimly lit room, tied to a white table. The Pillar Man smirked. Humans...they may have evolved to have powers...but they are still quite simple. I can easily break out of these restraints.
"Ah, you're awake."
The clacking of boots was heard as a younger man with bluish-white hair entered the room. He had a vindictive smile on her face as he observed the Pillar Man.
"I know you're powerful enough to break out of those, Santana...but I was going to free you anyway."
"Either you're insane, or delusional. Why capture me if you knew I could escape?"
"So you wouldn't kill me right away, I have an offer to make."
Santana glowered at him. "And who are you to make such demands of me?"
The man smiled.
"Tomura Shigaraki."
" ...Go away. "
Shigaraki lifted an eyebrow, surprised. "What?! You haven't even heard my propo-"
"I don't care about your stupid human drama, I only want to kill Joseph. Plus, I don't work with humans unless I have to, especially humans like you. So get out before I absorb you."
Shigaraki glared at Santana and slowly backed out of the room. Santana sighed, muttered "dickhead", and looked down at the stump of his hand. I could never regenerate quite as well as my masters...I can't even use somebody else's arm...
JoJo...even in your old age, you got the best of me, and now I have lost a hand as payment for my lack of caution...
I must plan more carefully in the future. Be like Master Kars...he always had a plan. I can't let my feelings get the best of me...
Get ready JoJo...it's my turn to be the mastermind!
...
Johnny's phone rang.
He and Gyro had just set up camp in the middle of the woods, and Gyro went off because he saw a wild blackberry bush and wanted to grab some berries for later. So he was all alone. He looked at the number and saw it wasn't one he recognized.
Huh? Should I answer? Heh...I could probably mess with whoever it is a little bit, I'm sure Gyro would get a kick out of that.
"Hello, this is an automated message, please reply after the tone."
" ...Hi JoJo... " The unimpressed voice of Ochaco Uraraka came back through the phone.
"...Hi Uraraka..."
Silence came from both ends of the call, both weren't really sure what to say next. They just sat like that for about five minutes, before Johnny spoke up. "So uhhh, why did you call?"
"Well, I felt bad since Deku and Jiro have been the only ones doing it, so I thought I'd pop in and say hi! "
"Oh, well thank you. I was wondering why I wasn't hearing from other people."
"Well, they're scared about what they are going to hear. There's a rumor going around that you're depressed or something, which...well considering the circumstances."
"They're scared that if they call, they'll make it worse or something?"
"I think so."
"Well...I won't lie, I've been feeling down a lot, but Kyoka and Izuku have really been helping with that."
"You and Jiro are on a first name basis?"
"Yeah, I mean...she's become one of my closest friends, why?"
"So...you know her pretty well."
"I think so, what are you getting at Uraraka?"
"Is there something going on between her and Deku? He's been spending more time with her than the other members of our friend group, so I was just..."
"Worried Izuku wasn't free?" Johnny teased.
" NO NO NO NO NO! I was just curious, I swear!"
Johnny laughed, before he realized that he was doing the same thing Gyro was doing about him and Kyoka. Shit, he's rubbing off on me! I'm a fucking hypocrite!
"Look, I'm not actually assuming things, just teasing, that's all. No, they aren't together...I asked her to look after him, that's why they've been so close."
"Oh...well why does he need to be looked after?"
Johnny frowned. He couldn't just up and say One For All, could he? "Well, he wasn't in the best state of mind when I got hurt...so I asked Kyoka to make sure he was okay."
"Okay...it's just...I could've helped, y'know? I'm close to Deku too, it didn't have to be just her..."
"...she was the first person I thought of. I'm sorry, my head wasn't in the best place at the moment, I should've thought of you...and Iida too."
"It's okay...it's just, Deku is my best friend...I don't want to be left out."
"I understand."
"JOHNNNNNYYYYYYYYY! HEEEEEEEELP!" Johnny whipped around to see Gyro sprinting towards him, carrying a basket of what was hopefully blackberries. Panic was etched onto his Italian friend's face, and soon that panic was transferred to Johnny as a LITERAL TANK emerged from the horizon, pursuing his friend.
"Um...Uraraka? I've got to go, like, RIGHT NOW."
"JoJo? Why do I hear rumbling?"
Johnny hung up and warped to their horses, setting them free. He spun onto Slow Dancer and led Valkyrie to his screaming companion. Gyro lept onto the horse and the two raced off, the tank in hot pursuit.
BOOM!
The tank fired a shot, the explosion kicking up dirt next to the two heroes. "MERDE! He's shooting at us!"
"How the hell did you do?! Where did the fucking tank come from?!"
"I WAS PICKING BERRIES!"
BOOM!
"SON OF A BIIIITCH!"
...
Uraraka put her phone down, confused by what she had heard.
"Uh, guys?" She walked up to her friends. Sure enough, Kyoka was with Izuku. They all turned their attention to her. "What is it, Uraraka?"
"I just got off of a call with JoJo...he sounded like he was panicking about something."
Kyoka and Izuku looked at each other, sharing a worried glance. Not only were they concerned about their friend, but also the prospect of the rest of the class finding out about Johnny's situation.
"Panicked? What would he be afraid of? Is he alright?" Iida asked.
"I don't know, he hung up on me."
"What about Zeppeli? Was he doing anything?" Momo questioned with a worried look on her face. "He was screaming JoJo's name, but I didn't hear the rest..."
"Jiro, Midoriya, you two have kept contact with them the most, so you know why they would act like that?"
Izuku's eyes shifted left to right. He was sweating profusely, trying to come up with an excuse. God dammit Midoriya, no wonder JoJo asked me to help you with OFA, you suck at lying.
"Someone probably snuck up and passed them while they were camping. They're trying to win a race after all."
"You seem very nonchalant about this, Jiro..."
"I'm just being realistic. Why would those two be in danger in a horse race? If there was something more to that race, wouldn't we have heard it on the news by now?"
The rest of their friend group reluctantly nodded their heads. Despite their worry, Kyoka's logic was sound. Izuku breathed a sigh of relief. Mental note: Jiro is a good liar. She really was a good choice in protecting OFA.
I'll have to thank her later...
But JoJo was clearly being attacked...and it sounds like it was something dangerous...it doesn't matter! I have faith in you JoJo! I know that you and Gyro can overcome anything! You guys could even take in a tank if you had to!
...
"HOW THE FUCK ARE WE SUPPOSED TO GO UP AGAINST A TANK?!"
BOOM!
"WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIIEEEEEEE!" Gyro wailed as another shell came close to hitting them. "I JUST WANT TO EAT DECENT PASTA ONE LAST TIME! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK?! I WANT MY MOMMY!"
"SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!"
BOOM!
Gyro finished his temper tantrum, and his face returned to a calm, confident state. "Okay, are we done fake panicking yet?"
"Just a little more, need to be convincing to lower his guard, y'know?"
"Okay...I. JUST. SHIT. MY. PANTS!"
"...too much Gyro, too much."
"Fine...enough playing around then, Nyo Ho!"
Gyro activated a steel ball and hurled it at the tank. "ORAAAAA!" The steel ball landed with a THUNK inside of the tank's barrel, so when the tank fired, it blew up from the inside. The tank rolled to a stop as smoke came flowing from it's shredded interior.
"Nice throw Gyro. Good thing the Spin enhances the durability of the steel balls, or that might have ended badly."
"Well, it helps that the guy is a shit shot, Nyo Ho!"
Then the roof of the tank burst open, and a man with sandy blonde hair, cut in a similar fashion to Polnareff's, came shooting out. He had a green military uniform, a mechanical eyepiece covering his left eye, and a triumphant look on his face.
"HA! You thought that would kill me?! You utter fool! German science is the greatest in the world! "
"...where have I heard that line before?" Johnny asked, searching his memory.
The man outstretched his hand, and it split in half, revealing it's mechanical nature, as well as a gun. "I was quirkless, until they made me into a living weapon! My name is Fritz von Stroheim! And I will put an end to the two of you!" Stroheim kicked Gyro in the stomach, sending the Italian straight into a boulder. The he grabbed Johnny's leg as he was retreating into one of his bullet holes, flinging the crippled Joestar upwards and began swinging him around, bashing Johnny into the ground with his robotic strength.
Johnny coughed up blood from the impact, he was already getting fuzzy, but he kept his cool. When he was flung upwards again, Johnny pulled out his lasso and fastened it around Stroheim's neck, and he began to choke his enemy out. If Stroheim tried to throw him, he would break his own neck.
Stroheim threw his head back, bashing Johnny in the face and causing him to fall to the ground. "Hey Fritz!" The German whirled around to see that Gyro had his hands pressed against the rock. The Italian gave him a cocky smile, and removed his hands, revealing that he had carved several stone spheres out of the rock using the Spin. Stroheim didn't have time to react, and he was cheesed by the small projectiles.
Gyro grinned. "Mmmm...cheese."
"Not so fast Meatball!" A bloodied Stroheim got back to his feet, his body glowing with a bright blue aura. "I have an EMP built in! Make one wrong move, and I'll activate it, killing you both!"
"Both? There's only me."
Stroheim's eyes widened. Johnny was nowhere in sight. As the German cyborg looked around fratically, Gyro noticed a familiar looking wormhole making it's way towards Stroheim's belt. A hand emerged and thumbed in the opposite direction, telling Gyro to run. Gyro turned and sprinted in the other direction.
Stroheim whipped around, pulling his gun on Gyro. "HEY! WHERE DO YOU-"
Then he felt something get yanked from his belt.
Johnny had pulled the pin on one of his grenades...
"OH FU-"
BOOM!
...
Johnny emerged from a hole near their horses as Gyro regarded him. "That was...kinda devious, don't you think Johnny?"
"It got the job done. It was either him, or us."
Gyro nodded, then he frowned. "What?" Johnny asked.
"He ran over our berries..."
"Well we avenged them, let's go."
A single tear ran down the side of Gyro's face. "My berries..."
...
"You and Katsuki actually worked together?!" Johnny exclaimed from Izuku's phone. The One For All user nodded in response. "I'm just grateful that I managed to get through to him, Kacchan has always been-"
"You need to stop calling him that, Midoriya. He isn't your friend anymore." Kyoka scolded him. She turned her attention to the phone. "So why were you panicking when you were talking to Uraraka?"
"Oh...Gyro pissed off a guy with a tank."
Kyoka blinked. She honestly wasn't expecting to hear that. "A TANK?! Like, the vehicle?!"
"Yeah, we managed to blow it up though."
Kyoka sighed. "Well...that's great I guess...I'm sorry, I still don't like knowing that you're in danger..." She sat down on the bench. She and Izuku were at Dagobah beach, as usual, and decided that they were going to check up on their friends to make sure they were okay.
"Yeah...we're alive though. Still fighting...so you and Kota defeated Present Mic with BUGS?!"
"Yeah! I almost got my ears busted though...but Kota pulled through!"
"That's great! I'm happy for you guys!...I wonder how I would've done..."
"You would've passed JoJo. Both back then, and now."
Johnny smiled. "Did I ever mention that I miss you guys?"
"Every time."
...
"Hello, my name is Susan Cujoh, and welcome to my TED Talk."
Giornogritted his teeth, cold fury running through his veins. After his talk with Jolyne, he had done all the research he could to try to take her down. He had been working tirelessly, he didn't get any sleep. And now she was doing a fucking TED Talk.
"Domestic abuse is a hell of a thing, trust me. I have gone many years without seeing my poor son, and I'm haunted by it. My poor baby has been through so much, and yet that man still holds all the power. He has power over my daughter, and he has power over U.A...but the one thing I have, is hope. Hope is what keeps me going...that's what we all need, is hope for things to get better. I know there will be justice for my so-"
GER smashed the T.V.
Why the hell were people still believing her?