The Lovers - Here Comes Steely Dan!
The group had to walk out of the graveyard and a couple of miles to find another mode of transportation. The whole time the woman of the group were passed out. Jotaro carried Hanabi while Polnareff, much to his dissatisfaction, had to carry Enyaba.
Once they finally found a ride, which was a horse-drawn carriage, Hanabi woke up. Not wanting to sit in the back with Enyaba, Hanabi chose to sit in the front on Jotaro's lap. But the young girl was still quite embarrassed from the whole Hol Horse kiss that she kept her hood over her head.
"Ne, you're still upset Hanabi?" Polnareff questioned the young girl.
Hanabi just flushed and pulled her hood down lower covering her face.
"No need to be embarrassed. You should take it as a compliment. It means you're so lovely that even the enemies can't resist you," Polnareff smirked
"T-That doesn't make me feel any better. Most women don't like to be randomly kissed!" Hanabi said
Polnareff glanced at Hanabi his smile getting wider, "Oh, I get it! It was your first kiss huh? Your upset that your maiden lips have been tainted."
"No! I didn't want to be kissed by him in the first place that's why I'm upset, and for your information, I've already had my first kiss," Hanabi said
"Ooohhh with whom?" Polnareff asked wanting to know.
"Well, uhm," Hanabi poked her fingers together and looked down, her cheeks turning pink again.
"Are you lying?" Polnareff asked with a smirk.
"N-no it's just..." Hanabi stuttered
Hanabi's eyes shifted up to Jotaro and then she quickly looked away.
Jotaro pulled down his cap looking away, "Yare yare daze."
Polnareff didn't seem to connect the dots but Kakyoin and Joseph did. While Kakyoin was rather subtle with his findings Joseph outwardly gaped at the two teens not paying attention to the road.
"You two!" Joseph gawked pointing at the two.
Hanabi's face turned red as she tried to disappear in her hood.
"What! No way!" Polnareff yelled laughed, "JoJo and Hanabi!"
"We were just 10 okay. All kids wonder stuff like that and Jotaro was the only boy I knew," Hanabi said
Polnareff laughed harder in his seat holding his stomach as the carriage kept moving.
"What a perfect time for an enemy Stand to attack now," Hanabi sulked
The carriage finally arrived at its next destination, Karachi. Hanabi was just happy the long ride gave Polnareff enough time to get all his laughs out.
Joseph pulled the carriage to a stop next to a food vendor who was selling Kebabs. He got out of the carriage and started to haggle with the vendor. The two men seemed to playing a mental game of tennis trying to get the best price for themselves. Hanabi was kind of impressed that Joseph was able to the Kebabs for 450 yen.
As Joseph walked back over to the group he stopped a surprised look on his face. Hanabi noticed Joseph's stares and looked at the back of the carriage, she jumped in shock seeing Enyaba sitting up eyes wide open.
"Hey! The old lady's awake," Joseph pointed out.
Kakyoin, Jotaro, and Polnareff all looked back at Enyaba.
Enyaba started to shake and sweat, "I-I….haven't said anything! W-Why are you here before me? Do you think that I, Enyaba, would actually tell them the secret of Lord Dio's Stand?" She had her focus forward making everyone look at the food vendor who seemed to be ignoring them.
Everyone looked at the food vendor as he slowly started to take off his cloak and sunglasses the reveal a young man with red eyes.
Hanabi looked back at Enyaba and screamed jumping up out of Jotaro's lap. Tentacles from a flesh bud were coming out Enyaba's eyes and mouth. The older woman screamed as the tentacles shot out breaking the carriage in the process. Jotaro scooped Hanabi up pulling her away from the carriage.
Enyaba continued to scream in pain as the flesh bud attacked her from within.
"Why….Why have you come to kill me?!" Enyaba yelled
"It means that Lord Dio truly trust no one. I will be making sure you never speak again. And as for you five there. I will be taking your lives," The man said
Blood exploded out of Enyaba as she fell out of the carriage and to the ground.
"My name is Dan….Steely Dan. My Stand suggests The Lovers card. I will see to it that you all meet the same fate as Enyaba," Dan said
As Enyaba laid on the ground dying she refused to believe that Dio would do this to her. Polnareff brought Silver Chariot and cut through some of the tentacles. The cut tentacles rolled into the sunlight and once the sun's rays touched it the flesh tentacle burned to a crisp.
"Th-They….They melted from the rays of the sun. The flesh bud! Its Dio's own cells!" Joseph exclaimed
"Precisely! I'm impressed you were able to figure that out. That is what the flesh bud, made from Lord Dio's cells, looks like when it's grown. I just grew it inside of Enyaba. Enyaba, I heard you were the one who told Lord Dio about the Stands. But there is no way Lord Dio would ever trust a little old woman like yourself. It seems you haven't realized that," Dan said
Joseph knelt down next to Enyaba asking for what Dio's Stand was, explaining that Dio was not the man she thought he was. Even in her last breaths, she refused to reveal his Stand and had faith in Dio.
Hanabi let out a gasp as the life left Enyaba's eyes, the woman's soul leaving her body.
"Oh, God!" Joseph shouted
"Hehehehehehe….." Everyone turned around to see Dan laughing, "How sad….How truly sad that old woman was. But the fact that she trusted him so deeply shows how powerful Lord Dio's evil charm truly is, hahaha."
Within a second the group was surrounding Dan, but he didn't seem concerned at all.
"Hey, jackass! Don't try to act cool at a time like this. Even if you won't attack us, we're going to fight," Jotaro said
"Do as you please. But none of you will be able to even lay a finger upon me, Steely Dan-!"
"Ora!"
Star Platinum didn't hesitate to punch Steely Dan in the stomach. Blood flew out the man's mouth as he was sent flying backwards but what really surprised everyone was that Joseph was sent flying back too, blood coming out of his mouth as well.
"What?!" Jotaro said
"Mr. Joestar!" Hanabi yelled
"He flew back just like that guy!" Polnareff shouted
Hanabi ran over checking on Joseph he seemed to be fine but he indeed had a bruise forming on his stomach as if Star Platinum had hit him.
"You fool! I was still in the middle of my explanation. You were very close to killing your own grandfather," Steely Dan stood up wiping the blood from his mouth. "Listen carefully. Do you really think I appeared before you just to kill Enyaba?"
Hanabi helped Joseph sit up. "Y-you bastard. You said you had the Stand of Lovers card, didn't you? W-What is that?!"
"The battle has already begun, Mr. Joestar," Steely Dan said
Polnareff, Jotaro, and Kakyoin kept looking around trying to spot the Stand but couldn't find anything.
"You fools! No matter how hard you look you won't be able to find my Stand easily." Steely Dan turned to a kid sweeping outside a shop, "Hey, brat," He pulled out some money, "I'll give you a tip, so hit my leg with your broom."
The kid took the money a little surprised but did as told. He lifted his broom up and struck Steely Dan in the side of his leg, but instead of Steely Dan falling out of pain Joseph did.
"What happened, Mr. Jorsatr?" Kakyoin asked
"I-I can't be his Stand it…." Hanabi said
"My Stand goes inside the bodies of others. The moment Enyaba died, it entered your brain through your ear. Meaning, the Stand and myself are one in the same. If my Stand gets hurt, so do I, and vice versa. If you so much as scratch me, my Stand, which is within your brain, will react to my pain and suffering in that same moment by going berserk. It will inflict pain several times greater to the same part of your body. I'll say it once more...You will not be able to lay a single finger on me! Not to mention The Lovers has taken Lord Dio's flesh bud and put it into your body. It's growing within your brain. Just like Enyaba, it will eat you from the inside and you will die!" Steely Dan said
To show off his Stands power Steely Dan cracked his knuckles and Joseph's fingers started to wiggle in pain.
"I-I can even feel real pain in my artificial left hand….." Joseph gasped
"This is bad. A Stand in his brain along with a flesh bud! Who knows what kind of damage is going on in there!" Hanabi thought
"In ten minutes, your brain will be eaten through, and you will die like Enyaba," Steely Dan stated
Jotaro seemed to have enough and grabbed the front of Steely Dan's shirt raising his fist along with Star Platinum's.
"Jotaro!" Hanabi yelled running forward. She jumped onto Jotaro's arm trying her best to hold it back but since he was so tall she was dangling about half a foot in the air.
"You have to calm down. If you lay even a finger on him your grandpa is going to get hurt," Hanabi said
Jotaro pulled his fist back further while Hanabi was still dangling from it.
"I'm going to kill him so fast he won't have a moment to feel pain," Jotaro said
"JoJo!" Hanabi shouted
Joseph let out a strangled cough catching their attention and Jotaro finally let go of Steely Dan, as Hanabi let go of Jotaro.
Steely Dan then started to taunt Jotaro, and Hanabi could feel the anger pouring off of her friend. Steely Dan even offered Jotaro a rock to hit him with.
"Gah he's really pushing Jotaro's buttons!" Hanabi yelled in her head.
Jotaro picked Steely Dan up again and was about to hit him with Star Platinum, Hanabi quickly brought out Queens Thorn her Stand wrapping Star Platinum up with its vine whip.
Hanabi let out a sigh of relief as Queens Thorn was able to lasso back Star Platinum while Kakyoin and Polnareff held back Jotaro.
"Dooooki~"
Hanabi looked back at her and Jotaro's Stands, she let out a silent mortified shriek. Queens Thorn was snuggling up to the tied up Star Platinum. Star Platinum didn't seem to mind and just looked away from the female Stand.
Luckily Polnareff and Kakyoin were too busy dealing with Jotaro while Joseph was still freaking out. So none of them saw what the Stands were doing, but Hanabi was still mortified.
Hanabi was finally knocked out her shock when Steely Dan took the rock he was holding and slammed it into Jotaro's stomach.
"Jotaro!" Hanabi cried as he kneeled down from the pain.
"Don't underestimate me, you bastard. After the geezer Joestar dies, next it'll be….." Steely Dan lifted up the rock to smash it over Jotaro's head but Hanabi threw herself over Jotaro taking the hit to her back.
"Hanabi!" Everyone shouted as the girl fell into Jotaro's arms. Jotaro easily caught Hanabi and immediately started checking her over as the rest of the men came over.
"I-I'm fine," Hanabi winced and grabbing at her upper back. Jotaro gritted his teeth in anger as he looked down at Hanabi before looking back up at Steely Dan sending him a glare.
Suddenly Kakyoin and Joseph started to run off with Polnareff trailing behind.
"Jotaro! You and Hanabi keep him away from Mr. Joestar!" Kakyoin called back.
"Oh, I see….So you think that if you move far enough away, my Stands power will disappear? But one's weakness can also be one's strength. My Stand, The Lovers, may be weak, but once it is within a body, I can control it from a distance far greater than any other Stand. Even hundreds of kilometers away," Steely Dan gloated
Jotaro helped Hanabi stand up.
Steely Dan grabbed the front of Jotaro's jacket, "Hey Jotaro! I'm talking to you! What are you looking away so calmly for? Look at me!"
"You sound like you're starting to lose your cool," Jotaro stated
"Do you and the girl plan to follow me until Joseph dies?" Steely Dan asked
"Ya know I'm really getting tired of being referred to as the girl," Hanabi thought
"Dan, was it? I will definitely make you pay for this," Jotaro said
Steely Dan started to chuckle, "If that's why you're following me, maybe I should borrow a little more," Steely Dan started searching through Jotaro's pocket and pulled out Jotaro's plus Hanabi's wallet along with a watch. "Is this all you have? I see that your watch, audaciously enough, is a TAG Heuer. I'll be borrowing this." Steely Dan pocketed the items and then turn to Hanabi, "And what do you have me, my dear?"
"Nothing you already took my wallet I keep on Jotaro," Hanabi said
Steely Dan smirked at Hanabi and looked her up and down. Hanabi's cheek's turned red from embarrassment and anger as she crossed her arms.
"Ah, but what about that it looks expensive," Steely Dan pointed to Hanabi's wrist.
Hanabi quickly covered up her star charm bracelet.
Steely Dan put his hand out signaling for her to hand it over his. Hanabi glared and was about to refuse but she saw Jotaro nods his head telling her it was okay. Hanabi reluctantly slid the bracelet off her wrist and put it in Steely Dan's hand. Steely Dan smiled as he examined the jewelry. He let out a whistle as he inspected the bracelet.
"Real silver and an amethyst gemstone. Whoever bought this for you must have some strong feelings," Steely Dan smirked pocketing the jewelry.
Hanabi looked away with a glare as her cheeks flushed again remembering how she got the bracelet.
It was Hanabi's 12th Birthday. Her parents wanted to throw an extravagant party for their only daughter but all she wanted was a small get together with her friends and family. Yet somehow her mother even turned that into a grand event. She rented a yacht and they had the party there. Hanabi's mother was having fun chatting with Jotaro's mother while Hanabi's father spent most of the time hanging over the side of the boat, because the poor man got seasick. After singing happy birthday and opening gifts Hanabi went to the top of the ship wanting to watch the sunset before her mother' big surprise happened.
Hanabi sat down enjoying the scenery when someone walked up behind her. She turned around and was greeted with the face of
her best friend.
"Jo-!"
"Here," Jotaro cut Hanabi off.
He thrusted a pink bag in Hanabi's face as he looked away from her. Hanabi gladly took the gift and opened it. She gave a happy smile seeing the gift. A silver bracelet with a star-shaped amethyst pendant on it. Hanabi giggled remembering how she used to tell Jotaro that she was jealous of his purple star birthmark. She slipped on the bracelet and stood up. Without giving any warning Hanabi jumped onto Jotaro giving him a big hug.
"I love it…" Hanabi whispered
Jotaro looked away. "Idiot say something next time you could have fallen."
Hanabi just laughed.
"Hanabi come down! It's time for your big surprise!" Honey yelled
"Come on Jotaro!" Hanabi grabbed Jotaro's hand pulled him downstairs.
The bracelet was special to Hanabi. Her mother told her that Jotaro had it custom made just for her. Honey helped Jotaro, make the bracelet himself, just for Hanabi.
Hanabi grit her teeth looking at Steely Dan as he taunted Jotaro more.
"There's no way I'm letting him keep that," Hanabi thought