Part 2

Chapter 3: Babysitting Stone Free?

Jotaro was as busy as he always was in Morioh, performing aquatic research in the quiet town. He rarely had time to see his young daughter, and it caused a heavy rift between him and his wife, as well as his daughter. So, after a bit of prodding from his grandfather, and Josuke as well, Jotaro began taking his daughter with him when he stayed in Morioh for business.

But today, Jotaro was in a bit of trouble, as his usual babysitter was unavailable suddenly, which meant that he would need to rush to find someone to keep an eye on his kid while he worked…

Early in the morning, Mitsuha is woken up by her father, who says "Mitsuha! Mr. Jotaro is on the phone, and he wishes to speak with you!" Mitsuha grumbles something incomprehensible, as her father says "I know you're not asleep anymore, so hurry up and get on the phone…" Mitsuha gets up, and tries her best to focus herself, before picking up the phone.

She says, in a slow and half-asleep tone "Hello Mr. Jotaro…"

Jotaro replies, saying "Mitsuha, I need a favor from you. I need a babysitter for my daughter, and I hoped that you'd be able to help out for the day. I'll pay you, as well as leave money for food for the both of you, of course."

Mitsuha's eyes light up, as she says, with significantly more enthusiasm, "You have a daughter?! Wow!"

Jotaro laughs quietly, and says "That's right. She's a few years younger than your sister, actually. Is that a yes?"

Mitsuha nods, and says "Yeah! I bet your daughter's super cute! When should I come over?"

Jotaro replies, saying "How about in an hour. I need to head out by then."

Then, Mitsuha says "I'll be there in an hour! Bye!"

She hangs up, as Jotaro sighs with relief, while saying "Well, at least that crisis was averted…"

Then, his daughter walks into Jotaro's office, and says "Who was that, daddy?"

Jotaro smiles, and says "That was your new babysitter. She'll be taking care of you today, while I'm working."

She grins, and says "Yay! Babysitters are fun!"

Mitsuha gets washed and dressed, and walks toward the door, but is stopped by her father who says "So what did Mr. Jotaro need, Mitsuha?"

She turns, smiles, and says "He asked me to babysit his daughter! It's gonna be so much fun!" Mr.

Miyamizu laughs, and says "This might be a good experience for you. And you'll even earn a bit of spending money too. Give us a call if you need anything!"

Mitsuha nods, and waves, as she walks out the door and to Jotaro's apartment…

Jotaro had a deal with a local apartment complex owner, who let him rent out small apartment room for a good deal, since he would only use it while he was in Morioh for business. Once Mitsuha reached his apartment, he brought her inside, and then he introduced her to his daughter. He says "This is my precious little angel, Jolyne." Jolyne looked like an average 7 year old, with greenish-yellow eyes and fair skin. Her hair was set up in two distinct layers. The upper layer of black hair was arranged with two buns, while the bottom layer was colored light purple, which went down a bit near her eyes as bangs.

Mitsuha smiles, but Jolyne pouts and says "Daaady…. I thought you were gonna call me something cooler…. I want the babysitter to think that I'm coooool…."

Jotaro smiles, and says "Sorry, Jolyne… And this is your babysitter, Mitsuha. I expect you to be on your best behavior, while I'm out."

Jolyne nods, and says "I'll be good, daddy!"

Before Jotaro leaves, he turns to Mitsuha and says "I left money on the table for food, and I'll give you your actual pay when I get back. You have my number, so don't hesitate to give me a call if you need anything."

Mitsuha nods, and Jotaro leaves for his work.

After Jotaro leaves, Jolyne grins and says "Hi Mitsuha! It's nice to meet you!"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "It's nice to meet you too, Jolyne! Your hair looks pretty!"

Jolyne grins even bigger, and says "My daddy helps me style it!" After that introduction, Jolyne leads Mitsuha to her toy area, so Mitsuha plays with Jolyne, allowing the little girl to take the lead. They spend about an hour playing with the toys, until Jolyne pouts and says "I'm getting bored! Wanna play hide and seek? I love playing hide and seek!"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "Sure, Jolyne! Do you want to hide first, or seek first?"

Jolyne laughs, and says "Hide! I'm awesome at hiding! You'll never find me!" And with that, she runs off, while saying "Don't forget to count! I can't really go past 100, but daddy says that grown-ups can!" So Mitsuha counts out loud, giving Jolyne plenty of time to hide. Once she finishes, she starts to look, starting with places that she'd find more obvious. Mitsuha wanted to take her time, so Jolyne would feel better about her hiding ability, but as Mitsuha looked, she could not seem to find her.

She mumbles to herself, saying "Where could she have disappeared to…?"

Then, she hears a light giggle nearby, so she focuses, and searches around, but she still can't seem to find her. She eventually says "Okay, Jolyne! I give up!"

Jolyne giggles some more, and says "Are you suuure, Mitsuha?"

Mitsuha nods, and says "You bet! I can't find you at all. You really are good at hiding!"

So Jolyne says "Open the drawer, under the sink!"

Mitsuha becomes confused, but complies, and then says "Okay… Will you come out now?"

Jolyne laughs and says "Yeah! That's why I asked that!" Then, a strange string-like material started to come out from the drawer, and the long string slowly formed the figure of young Jolyne.

Mitsuha jumped back, and yelled "Wha? What was that?!"

Jolyne laughs and says "Daddy says that it's my 'stand', but I don't really get it. But I can turn into string with it, and it's really cool!" Then, a bluish figure appeared behind Jolyne, wearing a pair of adorable black sunglasses.

Mitsuha bends down toward Jolyne, and says "You have a stand too, like your dad…?"

Jolyne nods, and then poses, with her left arm resting on her hip while her right hand touches her chin, and says "Yep! Daddy says it's called 'Stone Free'. I think I scared away my last babysitter with her… You're not scared of her, are you…?"

Jolyne's eyes suddenly fill up with tears, as she realizes that she might scare away her new and fun babysitter, but Mitsuha puts her hand on her shoulder, and says, while smiling "I'm not going anywhere, Jolyne! I might not have a stand myself, but I'm okay with them!"

Jolyne hugs Mitsuha, and says "You're the best babysitter ever!" Mitsuha laughs, and then Jolyne says

"Let's play again! You hide this time, Mitsuha!" So they play a few more rounds, until it gets to be late enough for Mitsuha to think of getting dinner for Jolyne and herself.

When she announces this to Jolyne, she pouts and says "I don't want dinner! I want ice cream!"

Mitsuha frowns, and says "Your dad wanted me to get you dinner, Jolyne… We can go out for ice cream after."

Jolyne stamps her foot, and yells, "But I want ice cream now!"

Mitsuha stands her ground, so Jolyne activates Stone Free, and quickly turns herself into string and hides herself in a crack in the wall. Mitsuha panics, as Jolyne yells from within the wall, saying "I'm not leaving until I get my ice cream!" Mitsuha scratches her head, as she wonders what she can do, as this was a heavy temper tantrum. She didn't want to bother Mr. Jotaro about any of this, and her dad wouldn't be able to help much either.

But then she gets an idea, and sends Josuke a text message, writing "Hey, are you busy right now? I'm babysitting Mr. Jotaro's daughter, and she's using her stand to hide in the wall, until I give her ice cream for dinner, and I can't get her to come out. Can you help me out?"

Mitsuha waits a moment, and then she gets a reply from Josuke, who says "Haha! Mr. Jotaro got you to babysit lil Jolyne? I'll head over with Okuyasu. Hang tight…"

A few minutes go by, until Josuke and Okuyasu knock on the door, so Mitsuha lets them in…

Josuke laughs and says "So lil Jolyne's messing with you, huh? She sure is a scamp…"

Okuyasu nods, and says "Yeah, but the little punk is hilarious…"

Mitsuha sighs, but smiles and says "She is adorable, but I feel like I can't compete with that stand…"

Mitsuha shows them where Jolyne was hiding, so Josuke says "Hey, kiddo…"

Jolyne excitedly yells back, saying "Big bro Josuke! Are you gonna get me ice cream?" She pops her face out of the crack slightly, and Mitsuha could see the hope in her eyes right now.

Josuke replies flatly, saying "What'd your babysitter say…?"

Jolyne pouts, and says "But I want ice cream!" She then retreats back into the crack in the wall, hoping to out wait the others.

So Josuke laughs, and whispers to Okuyasu and Mitsuha, saying "I know how to get Jolyne out. You ready, Okuyasu?" Okuyasu nods, and positions himself a few feet behind Josuke.

Josuke silently brings out Crazy Diamond, and uses it to break the wall that Jolyne was hiding in. She undoes her string form, and says "Your Crazy Diamond is soooo cool, big bro!"

But then, she sees Okuyasu, and says "Big bro Okuyasu? Uh oh…"

Okuyasu grins, and uses The Hand to erase the space between Jolyne and himself, bringing her right into his arms, and pins her down. He says "You gonna listen to Mitsuha, kiddo…?"

Jolyne refuses, saying "But ice cream…!"

So Okuyasu grins, and says "So, you're not gonna cooperate, ya little punk…?"

Jolyne realizes that Okuyasu was about to mercilessly tickle her, so she stops and says "I'll be good! I'll be good, big bro!"

Okuyasu laughs, and pats her on the head, and says "That's the right answer, kiddo!" She stands up, watching in amazement as the wall quickly was fixed, including the small crack.

She says "Big bro Josuke's awesome!"

But he glares at Jolyne, and says "Aren't you forgetting something, Jolyne…?"

She gasps, and turns to Mitsuha, and says "Sorry, Mitsuha… Will you still be my babysitter…?"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "I'm not going away anytime soon, Jolyne! Wanna get ready for dinner now?"

Jolyne grins, and says "Yay!" Then she turns to the boys, and says "Come with us! Come with us!"

Josuke replies, saying "We wouldn't be opposed to coming along, right Okuyasu?"

Okuyasu grins, and says "Yup!"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "Thanks for the help, guys…"

Josuke pats her on the shoulder, and says "No problem! And Okuyasu and I will pay our way, since I doubt Mr. Jotaro planned on us coming along as well."

Mitsuha nods, and then the group leaves for dinner…

After they eat, they take Jolyne out for ice cream cones, as her constant whines for it sort of made the rest of them crave some a bit.

As they enjoy their ice cream, Jolyne says "Hey Mitsuha, will you babysit for me again…?"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "If Mr. Jotaro asks me to, I will!"

Jolyne jumps up and down happily, and almost loses her ice cream in the process, but Josuke quickly uses Crazy Diamond to catch everything before it hit the ground. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, as they would have never heard the end of it if that ice cream cone landed on the ground.

Josuke and Okuyasu leave them as they all walk home, since their houses were in the opposite direction as Jotaro's apartment…

And once Mitsuha and Jolyne get back, Jolyne yawns, and says "I'm tired…"

So, Mitsuha gets Jolyne's bed all set up, but then Jolyne says "Read me a bedtime story, Mitsuha!"

Mitsuha replies, saying "Of course…"

She looks for a story, and eventually she finds one that stands out to her, so she reads it to Jolyne…

It was about a young girl living in the countryside and a young boy living in the city. Both kids, around high school age, lived average but pleasant lives, but each felt like something was missing. One day, both characters bump into each other at a train station, after the girl went to the city to do some shopping. They start to chat, and end up spending the day together, and continue to keep in contact after their day together. Years go by, as they continue to remain friends, until they eventually begin to date once they finish college. And they lived happily ever after…

Jolyne fell asleep quite fast, but Mitsuha felt compelled to continue reading for some reason. And when she reached the end, she began to tear up slightly, and she felt like she didn't understand why that story resonated with her like that. Mitsuha didn't remember having an experience like that, but for some reason, this story hit a specific chord in her. She eventually shakes off these weird thoughts, and puts away the book, and slowly closes the door, not wanting to wake up Jolyne.

But before she fully closed the door, she hears Jolyne mumble in her sleep, saying "Mitsuha…. You're an awesome babysitter…."

Mitsuha smiled, and fully closed the door. A few minutes later, Jotaro comes in, and says "I'm back. I hope Jolyne wasn't too much of a pain for you…"

Mitsuha laughs, and says "She was fine! I wasn't expecting her to have a stand though…"

Jotaro coughs, and then sits down, before sighing and saying "So she used it around you, huh…? Sorry about not telling you about it. Her last babysitter actually quit because of it. She couldn't see the stand, so all she saw was Jolyne disappearing and reappearing like crazy. I tried to get her to not use it around people, but I figured that having a babysitter who was at least familiar with stands would be a better option. Will you babysit for us again, Mitsuha? I know she's hard to handle, especially with her stand, but I'll make sure to pay you well. She's with me about 4 days a week during the Summer, and I'm usually working, so it'll be a big help…"

Mitsuha smiles, and says "I'd love to! Jolyne's really cute…"

Jotaro sighs, and says "Thanks, Mitsuha. Let me give you a ride home, since it's a bit late. I'll talk with your father as well, so he'll know that I'll drop you off most nights. It'll also help if we need to work out any details as well."

So Jotaro gives Mitsuha a ride home, and before she leaves the car, he says "Thanks again for helping me out, Mitsuha. Have a good night, and say hi to the family for me."

Mitsuha nods, and says "I will! Bye Mr. Jotaro!"

Jotaro and Toshiki work out the details of Mitsuha babysitting Jolyne, as Toshiki thought it would be a good way for Mitsuha to become a bit more responsible. And through their discussion, they realized that they had a lot in common, as they both struggled with keeping a healthy relationship with their families, due to their focus on work. Jolyne even came over to Mitsuha's house occasionally, and got to play with Yotsuha, while Jotaro and Toshiki chatted casually.

And Mitsuha got to spend more time around Jolyne, babysitting her a few times a week, getting a nice amount of spending money in the process. Jolyne even started to call her 'big sis Mitsuha', which Mitsuha found adorable. But she never quite understood what made her seek out that book the first night she babysat for Jolyne, or why she reacted the way that she did. And the oddest part was that she couldn't seem to find it again, but she kept that to herself.

But Mitsuha didn't let that worry her, as she was much too focused on keeping an eye on Jolyne, who could disappear at any moment, thanks to her crazy stand…

←To Be Continued

Notes

Again, I'm releasing the chapter here, to consolidate everything regarding the whole story. I'll probably just delete the old Part 2 once all of these are uploaded here. Below are my (mostly) old notes from when I first released the chapter:

With this chapter, a major character has now entered the story: Jolyne! She's the protagonist of Part 6, for those of you unaware, and even though she was technically alive during the events of Part 4, her existence was never hinted at by Araki until Part 6 itself. I think it was to make it a bit reveal, and in Part 6, she has a much less healthy relationship with her father, Jotaro. It's mainly because Jotaro focuses on work so much that he barely would see his wife and daughter. And it doesn't help that he'd have fun in Morioh with the Duwang Gang, without really thinking of his daughter.

But with things right now, this Jolyne would not become like the Jolyne of Part 6, since I'm having Jotaro take a more active role in making his relationship with his family stronger.

I was partly inspired to include Jolyne like this by a comic artist, Strawberry-jan, who posts a lot of cool JoJo comics on Tumblr. I don't think you can post links here, so you should just look up Strawberry-jan (her full name on Tumblr is 'jan draws a thing' on Tumblr if you want to see cool and fun JoJo comics.

She does a lot of fun Slice of Life comics about Part 4, while including a young Jolyne, to interact with characters like Josuke and Okuyasu. They're fun.

And of course, I added another nice little nod to how Mitsuha is kind of not really remembering some of the details of the body switching experience with Taki. And while it won't be apparent just how much she (or he when we eventually get to see his side) remembers, we'll find out eventually. But it should be fun.

Also, feel free to leave a review to let me know how I'm doing, if something confuses you on where things go in this weird timeline, or anything else!