Author's Note: I've been a big fan of Weather Report's ASBR theme as of recently. It has that combination of a fast-paced weather news channel background music with a Mario Kart racetrack theme. It's been helping me get a lot of things done, so I also find that cool.
Also, expect me to post more of my thoughts during the Author's Note segments. I figured it would be helpful for you guys to understand my thought process as I write these chapters.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!
After Trish's wounds were healed from her practice fight against Zeppeli, the girl insisted to continue training despite Jonathan's dismay. The girl had to convince the gentleman that it was for her own good, so he had no choice but to eventually accept her request.
And so, the three individuals were gathered near the lake once again. By then the sky had adopted a nice shade of orange, almost signaling the end of the day.
"Are you sure you are feeling alright, Ms. Una?", asked the magician with caution.
Trish nodded before doing several circular motions with her shoulders. "I'm doing alright, Mr. Zeppeli; the fight just left me more tired than I expected", she explained. "I had no idea Hamon could also heal wounds."
The man nodded back. "Hamon breathing can do many great things, Ms. Una; that is why it is important for you to understand the ramifications of your training", the magician told her.
He then somersaulted back into the lake, using his Hamon to stand in the water. As ripples of energy reverberated from his feet, the magician began to hop around the lake while in tip-toes, never once sinking below the surface.
"Hop, hop, hop!", the magician resounded whimsically.
Trish looked confused, while Jonathan couldn't help but giggle.
"Uhh, what are you doing, Mr. Zeppeli?", the girl asked.
"Hamon requires a stable breathing, Ms. Una! If your breathing is not stable, then you cannot take the first step!", the magician spoke up while continuing to hop. "If you want to learn Hamon, then you must be serious about it! Tell me, Ms. Una: are you serious enough to take the first step?"
Trish then remembered Lisa Lisa's words. Whether you master Hamon or not will depend on how badly you want to learn it.
The girl then closed her eyes.
...
"True courage is about becoming one with fear itself, yes", the magician stated. "Only then can you step forward without hesitation; it is one of the most important things for a student to remember if they're learning Hamon."
...
The girl opened her eyes again.
She desired to take a path of resolve just like Hamon users.
Right, she wanted that.
"Of course I'm serious, Mr. Zeppeli!", suddenly declared Trish, the girl gripping her right fist tightly. "I'm willing to do anything to learn Hamon, and I'll be damned if I die before I master it!"
"Then join me, Ms. Una! Step into this lake!", the magician invited her. "Stabilize your breathing, and you'll be able to walk in the water! You just need to take the first step!"
"Right!", the girl nodded, before inhaling and exhaling every five seconds. Jonathan looked uneasy, but he didn't say anything.
Trish slowly walked towards the lake before beginning to run, the adrenaline in her body building up as she got closer. She ignored her instincts to stop as she stepped into the water:
And quickly fell inside.
"WHA-!?", the girl shouted as she fell face-first into the lake.
Jonathan couldn't help but gasp; his initial hunch was correct.
I knew it! Breathing on a constant rhythm alone shouldn't make you walk on water!
Zeppeli only laughed as he helped Trish stand up, the poor girl now completely drenched in water. Her hair looked like a pink cleaning mop, and her make-up was absolutely ruined.
"Ms. Una, Hamon is more than just adapting a consistent breathing rhythm. If it were that easy, everyone would be running marathons across oceans!", the magician laughed, kicking more water into the already-soaked girl. "I appreciate that you're taking your training seriously, but Hamon breathing is all about giving life! You cannot learn it if you don't enjoy it!"
The magician then laughed some more, continuing to splash water into the girl. Her expression was indiscernible.
...
"When I told you to prepare yourself, I wasn't talking about my attack; I was talking about the frog's legs", Zeppeli explained. "The Hamon in the frog's body forced it to kick the rock, effectively providing me with a window of opportunity to attack!"
You can't be..., Trish barely formulated her thoughts. You can't be serious! That's bullshit!
...
Right, Mr. Zeppeli was all about bullshit.
She would have to get used to that too, right?
The magician was suddenly interrupted from his laughing fit when a rubbery blob of water hit his face, forcing him to fall backwards.
"Mr. Zeppeli!", Jonathan shouted.
"Wha-!", the magician looked around, before noticing the same sphere of water floating in front of him. It suddenly returned to liquid in a burst, further dampening his face.
Trish played with a similar blob as she looked down on him. "I made a portion of the water 'soft' using my stand ability, and turned it into a ball", she grinned devilishly at the magician, continuing to toy with the sphere in her hand. She looked menacing with the ruined make-up running down her face. "So how about it? First one to fall again loses?"
The magician looked stunned for a moment, before he grinned back at the girl, coursing Hamon energy through his body as he jumped back up. "You have a deal, Ms. Una! As the French say, en garde!"
Somewhere inside the mansion, Polnareff sneezed.
Both Trish and Zeppeli spent the next eight minutes trying to throw the other down using their abilities, eventually with Trish taking the victory. The girl was laughing the entire time.
Stand Profile - Spice Girl
Stand Name: Spice Girl
Localized Name: Spicy Lady
Stand User: Trish Una
Destructive Power: A
Speed: A
Stand Range: C
Ability Range: A
Persistence: B
Precision: D
Developmental Potential: C
Stand Appearance: A pink humanoid stand with feminine features and pronouns, similar in appearance to Trish herself. She features mathematical signs all over her body, as well as a holed slip dress with a fishnet pattern.
Stand Ability: Spice Girl has the ability to make any physical object soft regardless of material, changing its consistency to that of putty. While in this state, affected objects become impervious to all forms of damage, as dictated by the stand itself, "soft but more unbreakable than a diamond".
Soft objects in motion, like capsules and bullets, retain their momentum even while affected, creating a kinetic reaction upon deactivation of the ability.
Stand Origin: As her father was a stand user, Trish had stand potential ever since she was a child, however her stand never awakened until much later. Thanks to Giorno's efforts, as well as the danger from an enemy stand they once faced, Notorious B.I.G, Trish developed her stand potential to awaken Spice Girl for the first time.
A few days after their first spar, Zeppeli began teaching the basics of Hamon to Trish, starting with the differences between power and courage.
Both Zeppeli and Trish were standing in the usual lake as they got into their training stances. One of the most important qualities about Hamon is understanding courage. Courage gives way to living life without fear; Hamon breathing uses this courage to give life energy.
As Trish gave a normal punch, Zeppeli demonstrated a longer one by displacing his bones with Hamon. Think about a flea and a dog. Despite the dog being several times larger than the flea, the flea still feasts on the dog's blood. Does the flea do it out of bravery, or stupidity? Nay! It comes from the necessity to drink blood! The flea sucks blood from the dog because it needs blood to live!
Zeppeli then explained how Hamon breathing helps numb the limbs to extend them beyond human limits. A zombie behaves the same way as a flea. No matter how powerful it may be, the zombie will never have courage. That is why the human shines, for it has the courage to live.
Trish tried doing the same thing, only to wince back in pain when she wasn't successful. Do not forget the purpose of your training, Ms. Una! You are here to learn Hamon and gain courage! The beat of your heart gives way to the beat of your courage; Draw it out from within to give life!
After a few more demonstrations from Zeppeli, Trish was able to successfully replicate his Zoom Punch. Courage is just another way of saying resolve. If I can gain more resolve, then maybe I can understand Giorno and the others a little better.
She then tried repeating a similar motion for Spice Girl, which resulted in an extended punch from her stand. Maybe by understanding you better, Giorno, I can...
By the end of the week, Trish was more than capable of generating Hamon, albeit a small amount. It was nowhere near as powerful as Jonathan's, but it was a start.
It was during this time that Giorno also began to monitor Trish from the shadows, trying to determine whether his recent hypothesis was correct or not. By then he noticed not just how stronger she was getting, but also how more confident she was while carrying herself. He still couldn't tell what feelings Trish was developing yet, but at the very least he was proud of her progress.
Maybe now you can better prepare to fight for yourself, Trish, Giorno thought to himself before walking away. Whatever your purpose for fighting is, just know that I'll always be supporting you in your endeavor.
Meanwhile, Trish was practicing her recently-learned Zoom Punch using a flour bag hung on a tree. As the girl punched the flour bag, she asked the other gentlemen watching her, "So, do you guys have a battle cry?"
"What do you mean?", Jonathan turned to her.
"I mean the sound you make when you do a strong attack", the girl explained before raising a fist. "You know, like a punch. I normally use 'Wannabe' for my stand cry, but I need something shorter for smaller attacks."
"I think she's referring to what we say when we fight", Zeppeli spoke up. "For instance, most of our Hamon attacks have 'Overdrive' in their names, so that would be our battle cry."
"Ohh, I understand now", Jonathan put a hand to his chin. "I know Jotaro and Johnny use 'Ora', but I don't understand the meaning behind the expression."
"I guess 'Ora' is pretty short, but I'm not sure if it has the impact I'm looking for...", Trish trailed off before turning back to the flour bag. She then thought of another short battle cry, one that someone else uses:
...
"Do not make me repeat myself. I hate repeating myself."
"Repeating myself is useless. Useless, useless."
...
Would that work?
Time to find out.
Trish gave a light punch to the bag. "...Muda."
"Hmm?", Jonathan turned to her.
The girl wasn't sure if that sounded right, so she tried again with more effort. "Muda. Muda!"
"Hey...", Speedwagon trailed off, remembering who else used to shout that. "Isn't that what...?"
In a matter of seconds, Trish was getting the hang of saying it. "Muda muda, muda!"
Giorno stopped in his tracks; he also heard the girl shout.
He turned back to the girl punching the flour bag.
Trish quickly unleashed Spice Girl, the stand preparing a similar punching barrage onto the bag. "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"
The last punch was given with extra effort, gaping the bag wide open with a small flour explosion.
By the end of it, Trish was celebrating while covered in the white powder. "Boo-yah! Now that's more like it, hahaha!"
She then turned to the three gentlemen, all who shared a face of surprise.
"...What?", asked Trish.
"...Nothing dear, just bad memories", Jonathan quickly waved off. "Nicely done, though! I think that battle cry suits you well!"
"You think so?", the girl asked, the other three men nodding. "Well that's good to hear; I actually got it from a friend of mine."
Giorno lightly smiled to himself before fully walking away.
"Perhaps you need better friends, then", sighed Speedwagon, Jonathan quickly nudging him on the shoulder.
"That was a wonderful display of your power, Ms. Una; I could certainly feel your life energy burst from this distance!", commended Zeppeli before preparing himself another sandwich. "Now, I want you to do the same thing with the tree, only this time I want you to use your Hamon as an energy-enhancer."
"'Energy-enhancer'?", asked Trish. "You mean, like an attack booster?"
The magician nodded.
She then turned to the tree, before taking a deep breath full of Hamon. "Kuuuooooohhhhhhhhh..."
Her body began to produce yellow sparks all throughout, an enhanced Spice Girl with glowing irises appearing beside her. Now, what will be your next course of action, Trish?, asked the stand.
Trish narrowed her eyes. That's simple.
...
"Hamon users also tend to name their attacks", Zeppeli told the girl during a previous training session. "It is not necessary, but coming up with attack names is always a fun activity."
...
"On the count of one, Spice Girl!", the girl shouted, her stand quickly getting into a fighting stance as she understood what they were about to do. "Three, two!"
Her Hamon-powered body began to pump adrenaline all throughout. "One!"
Trish suddenly unleashed a kicking barrage onto the tree along with Spice Girl. "Spicy Hamon - Kick Barrage!"
She then finished her barrage with one powerful kick, almost exploding the tree if it weren't for Spice Girl softening it first.
The three gentlemen watched in shock as the tree wobbled like jelly while covered in sparks. As soon as the tree returned back to normal, small flowers began to blossom in its branches.
"That's incredible!", Speedwagon commented. "Ms. Una left the tree bouncing to and fro like a Brazilian samba dancer!"
"And the Hamon energy in her attack even made flowers begin to grow...", Jonathan added in awe.
"Now that was a flavorful Hamon attack, Ms. Una!", Zeppeli celebrated as he feasted on his sandwich. "I would say that was a fine job from your part!"
"Thanks", the girl panted with a small smile. She then turned to the tree covered in flowers. "And you're right. I would say that was quite flavorful."
Hamon Profile - Trish Una
Description: After learning Hamon breathing from Will Antonio Zeppeli, Trish Una began adopting a series of new attacks into both her and her stand, starting with:
Zoom Punch: An elongated punch resulting from the extension of the limbs. Hamon is coursed through the arms to numb the pain that normally prevents humans from stretching their arms beyond their allowed limits. Trish later created an alternate variation called Zoom Kick to prevent punching, as she'd rather not damage her nails.
Spicy Hamon - Kick Barrage: A barrage of kicks energized by Hamon energy. Stand users can kick alongside their stand, like Trish and Spice Girl.
Now that she had the basics of Hamon jotted down, Trish also wanted to practice another aspect of her abilities. That is when she began studying Jolyne's fighting skills, as well as what she was capable of doing with her string.
The younger girl was looking all over the mansion for Jolyne until she found her outside, resting underneath a tree's shade. She was throwing a baseball up and down her hand.
The younger girl decided to approach her; however, someone got to her before she could reach Jolyne:
"Hey, what do you want with Jolyne?", A large pink-haired man suddenly got in her way, eerily resembling a lot like her father.
"Uhh...", Trish could not form any words.
"Knock it off, Anasui", Jolyne appeared from behind him, the man named 'Anasui' listening to her orders. She then turned to Trish as he walked away, "Don't worry about him; he's just going through a weird phase right now. The guy's trying to protect me and shit, but he doesn't know how to act like an actual boyfriend yet."
Trish looked at her surprised. "Boyfriend?"
The older girl nodded. "Yep. Anasui wants us to get married as soon as our deal with Pucci was finished, but since we got ourselves involved in an even bigger mess, we decided to instead be boyfriend and girlfriend for now", she explained. "We'll get married when all of this is done."
"I see...", Trish trailed off at the mention of Pucci's name. She suddenly bowed at Jolyne, "I don't really know who Pucci is, but I heard he's friends with Giorno's father", she stated. "I apologize for the actions he's done."
Jolyne looked at her weirdly. "Well, you couldn't really have done anything if you were there, and I think you're the last person who should apologize for all this. You don't need to say sorry."
"...I know", the pink-haired girl fully stood up. "I don't really know why I did it, either. It just felt like the right thing to do, considering what you went through."
"We all have our own problems, girl; people don't need to apologize for that", the older girl responded. She then followed up with, "But I get it; a lot of people here have weird connections with each other. Josuke's my uncle but he's younger than my dad, and Giorno's supposed to be my great-grand-uncle."
Trish dropped her mouth at that statement. "Wait, what?"
"Our family tree is complicated; don't wrap your head around it", Jolyne waved it off before sitting in a wooden box. She then picked up the baseball and began playing with it again. "So, what else are you here for? Or did you just want to apologize?"
The younger girl then remembered the original reason for being here after seeing the baseball. "Uh, no. I wanted your help with something."
Jolyne stopped throwing the baseball in the air, her attention now fully divided on the girl. "Shoot."
Trish nodded. "So, you know how how Jonathan uses Hamon, right?"
"Hamon...", Jolyne thought to herself out loud, trying to remember where she heard the word. "That's the breathing technique that uses the sun, right? Yeah I've heard about it."
The younger girl nodded. "That's half of it; The technique comes from the blood flow in your body", Trish added. She then took a series of specific breaths before being enveloped in a soft yellow aura.
The younger girl then turned to Jolyne and outstretched her hand. Yellow sparks were traveling between the gaps in her fingers, and her irises were slightly glowing. "See? I asked Jonathan's Hamon instructor to teach me how to use it, and since I'm qualified to learn, I now know how to use a little."
"Oh, neat", Jolyne stated, slightly surprised at seeing another form of power besides stands this close.
Trish then stopped breathing Hamon. "But I still think I can get stronger than this. I wanted to know if you were available to help me out."
Jolyne decided to think this through. "Why me, though?", she asked, turning back to the girl. "Can't you just keep training with that Hamon instructor you were talking about? Or what about Jonathan?"
Trish thought it over for a moment, before listing the reasons with her fingers, "Well, Jonathan insists on not fighting women, and I don't want to keep relying on Mr. Zeppeli for everything."
She then looked at Jolyne. "Plus, it's not Hamon I want to practice. It's my speed."
"Speed?", repeated the older girl.
The younger girl nodded. "I've seen what you can do with your stand ability. You can make string out of your body to grab and throw objects around."
Trish then pointed to the ball Jolyne was holding. "Like that baseball, for instance. I assume you can throw that thing fast using your string?"
The older girl looked at the baseball she was holding. "Yep, I can do that. You wouldn't believe me if I told you, but I even threw a baseball at someone 1000 times once."
Trish couldn't hide her surprise, "You did what?"
"Told you you wouldn't believe me", the older girl smirked.
Trish shook her head in disbelief. "Anyway, I figured you could help me out with training my speed", she got back to the topic at hand. "So what do you say? Are you available right now?"
Before Jolyne could speak up, Anasui interjected for her. "I'm afraid she's not, actually", he told Trish rudely; he must have heard their conversation. "She is still dealing with the pain her father's absence left her, and she does not have time for doing anyone else's stupid favors!"
Trish cringed at his answer. Ouch.
"Anasui!", Jolyne shouted.
"But it's true, isn't it, Jolyne?", asked her boyfriend. "Your father's recovering ever since what Pucci did to him, sure, but he's been absent for most of your life! It's understandable that you're still trying to figure out what to think of him!"
He then turned to the younger girl. "That's what I mean when I say she doesn't have time for anyone else! Now fuck off!"
Anasui felt a slap to his face.
He raised a hand to touch it, before turning to who did it.
"Jolyne, you...", he trailed off.
"Whatever happens between me and my dad is my business, Anasui, and no one else's", the older girl told him with a serious expression. "If you don't want anything else about me to also be only my business, then I need you to back off."
The taller man was unresponsive for a moment.
"..."
"..."
"..."
He then bowed to Jolyne, "...Of course, Jolyne", before turning to Trish. "I apologize for my rude behavior. Please forgive me."
He then walked away, leaving the two girls alone.
"..."
"..."
"...Sorry for that", Jolyne sighed. "As I said, he's still learning. Anasui really needs to learn to respect my boundaries, and everyone else's, but I know he seriously cares about me. I just... don't know how to get him to be more patient with everyone."
"It's alright", Trish responded back, still recovering from what she just saw. "I, uh, didn't know you had problems with your dad."
"Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal", the girl clicked her teeth as she sat back down in the wooden box. "But to be honest... There were times where he wasn't there when I needed him the most. I don't understand why he left our family so often, or why he always seemed to avoid us as much as he could. Did me and my mom do something wrong...?"
She then noticed who she was talking to. "Sorry. Didn't mean to rant out on you."
"No, don't apologize", Trish spoke up, also figuring to share her family problems since Jolyne did it first. "My dad also left me when I was little, so my mom took care of me by herself until she died. When she did, I ended up learning the truth about my father. He was the boss of a mafia organization, and he left our family to hide his identity. Killing me was his way of burying the past for good, and if it weren't for Giorno and the rest of the group, I wouldn't even be here right now."
Jolyne only looked at her. "Jesus, that sounds horrible."
The younger girl resounded an empty laugh. "It is."
The older girl then looked down on the ground, multiple thoughts running in her head. For a moment it remained silent, all three individuals not saying anything.
"..."
"..."
"..."
After a while, the older girl spoke up:
"...Good grief...", Jolyne narrowed her eyes, gripping the baseball she was holding in her hand. "I know what it's like to have a dad that's not in your life, but it must suck to have one that controls yours entirely."
Both Anasui and Trish looked at her.
"Jolyne...", the man quietly trailed off.
Trish knew by looking at Jolyne's eyes that she was being genuine with her words.
"...You're right", the pink-haired girl turned away from Jolyne. She then walked towards a patch of dry grass. "But I won't turn tail and run away. That's why I want to get stronger", she continued. "I want to surpass my dad, as well as my own weaknesses."
She then stopped in place, before turning back to face Jolyne. "But I need your help in order to get there, so what do you say?", she asked. "Will you help me get the strength I want?"
"..."
The older girl turned to look at her.
"..."
"..."
A few seconds later, Jolyne finally made her mind. She stood up and stretched her shoulders. "...Well, if you plan to stick it to your dad, then who am I to say no?", She devilishly smirked at the younger girl. "You've got yourself a deal."
Trish's face brightened to a smile. "Thank you."
"Don't sweat it; now let's get this over with!", Jolyne's fingers began undoing themselves into strings, meshing themselves into the baseball in her hand. "I'll start throwing the ball slowly and then go faster. You okay with that?"
The younger girl quickly steeled herself up. "Yeah, that's fine", she nodded in agreement. Anasui silently walked a few more feet away to let the two girls begin.
"Okay, brace yourself!", Jolyne got into a throwing stance, before throwing the ball towards Trish. "ORA!"
"Spice Girl!", Trish called out her stand, who reached towards the baseball. Upon catching the ball, the thrown object quickly softened into putty.
Jolyne immediately felt the change in the baseball from the difference in string vibration. "So that's your ability", she noted to herself, undoing the string to bring the baseball back to her hand. As it got father away from Spice Girl's effective range, the baseball hardened back to normal. "Your stand can make things soft."
Trish nodded. "Soft, but indestructible", she declared, her stand moving behind her. "That's the power of my stand, Spice Girl."
Jolyne nodded as well. "I see. If that's the case, then I'll go faster!"
She then bent into another throwing stance before throwing the spherical object. "ORA!"
"Spice Girl!", Trish called out her stand again, quickly catching the ball and making it soft. Jolyne forced the string back towards her, returning the ball to its original state.
As the ball approached her, the older girl lassoed the object around her finger and launched it again in one motion. The younger girl repeated her movements, using her stand to make the baseball soft.
And so they both continued, Jolyne continuously unraveling her string and throwing the baseball, and Trish using her stand to soften it. The older girl slowly increased her speed as the cycle kept repeating; the younger girl caught up to her in tandem.
Eventually, Jolyne stopped throwing the baseball. "Okay, I'll now go even faster!", she shouted to the girl, part of Stone Free unraveling beside her. "You better get ready!"
Trish nodded before closing her eyes and focusing on her breathing. As she inhaled and exhaled rhythmically, her body began to glow a soft yellow aura. She felt her blood flow faster inside her arms and legs. Sparks of Hamon energy flowed through her joints, muscles and tendons, slowly relaxing but hardening them.
As she opened her eyes, her irises glowed a light green hue. "Alright, come at me!", she shouted back.
Jolyne nodded before quickly swerving the baseball towards the girl. "ORA!"
"Spice Girl - Hamon Extension!", Trish called out her stand, this time punching the baseball into putty and bouncing it back at Jolyne.
Both girls felt Spice Girl grow considerably in strength and speed. The older girl recovered first, doing a 180 spin and lassoing the baseball back towards Trish. She used her Hamon-enhanced stand to punch the ball into putty once again.
"Alright, let's see how far we can go!", Jolyne shouted as she returned the ball towards her. "Here comes 1000 throws!"
"I'm ready!", Trish shouted back.
Jolyne's Stone Free suddenly sped up to the point of creating duplicate mirages, the older girl consecutively swerving the ball towards the younger girl. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA-"
As the baseball approached Trish, the girl used her breathing to sharpen her senses. For an instant, the baseball seemed to slow to a stop.
That's the window of opportunity!, Trish quickly mused to herself, the girl remembering what Zeppeli once said. Her stand immediately appeared in front of the accelerating ball.
"MUDA!", Her stand punched the baseball in the exact same spot, punching it back towards Jolyne.
The older girl immediately threw it again, forcing Trish to continue using her breathing to keep track of the ball's quick movements. The younger girl repeated her motion, always punching the baseball at the exact moment.
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA-!"
"ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA-!"
Both Jolyne and Trish were quickly locked in another cycle, the baseball becoming completely invisible to the naked eye as it traveled between the girls at impressive speeds. Jolyne caught and threw the ball within a fraction of a second, while Trish punched it into putty and threw it back within a similar time.
Impossible!, Anasui took a step back in bewilderment. I can't even see the ball, but I know that if I stepped in the middle, I could get killed! It's too fast for the eye to track!
Eventually, both girls began to tire out, the ball between them starting to slow down slightly. Jolyne still kept up and threw the baseball, however. Trish only focused on her breathing to keep her body energized.
The older girl felt her stamina approaching the limit, so she used all her remaining energy for one last barrage. "Now here comes the finisher; Stone Free!"
The girl's string wrapped around her arms tightly to increase their elastic strength. "Game... Set...! One more thousand throws, strengthened by string! ORA!"
"MUDA!"
"MATCH! ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA-!"
"MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA-!"
Trish also felt like she was about to pass out, so she adjusted her breathing accordingly. By taking a sharp inhale, she focused all her remaining Hamon into her arms and hands only.
This is the last of my energy!
"Spice Girl - Hamon Extension!", the girl shouted as her stand suddenly increased her speed, indicating the last of her current capacity. "MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA! WANNAAAAABEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Spice Girl finished by punching the baseball into the sky, forcing Jolyne to use all her remaining strength to pull it down in one quick motion. The older girl barely dodged the baseball as it hit the ground with a thud, creating a small crater within the grass.
Jolyne was sitting knee-first in the grass; Trish was holding herself against the ground using her hands. Both girls were breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
They both then looked at each other.
"..."
"..."
"...Ha ha, haha ha-"
"Heheh-"
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Hehahahhahahahahaha!"
Then they laughed.
"Hahahaha!", The younger girl couldn't help but laugh as she sat up. Her stand smiled approvingly, before slowly vanishing into the air.
Trish looked up at the sky with renewed vigor. The girl never felt her blood rush with such a powerful burst of adrenaline before. It felt as if she was liberated, like a locked bird within a cage finally opened towards the world.
So, this is what it feels like to have strength...
"That was awesome!", Jolyne snickered as Stone Free's string returned to her body. "We need to do that again sometime!"
"Sometime, yeah", the girl faintly smiled, looking back at Jolyne. She then winced slightly; the girl soon felt her tiredness returning to her. "Definitely not now, though."
Stand Profile - Stone Free
Stand Name: Stone Free
Localized Name: Stone Ocean
Stand User: Jolyne Kujo
Destructive Power: A
Speed: B
Stand Range: C
Ability Range: A
Persistence: A
Precision: C
Developmental Potential: A
Stand Appearance: A blue humanoid with feminine attributes, as well as sunglasses and truncated cones at each side of the head. Most of the body features evenly-spaced bumps. The stand has been described to smell like soap.
Stand Ability: Stone Free allows Jolyne to freely manipulate string out of her body, in exchange of using parts of her body as material. She can unravel up to 70% of her body without causing harm, and with the string she can detect sounds and sensations, interact with stands and objects, create string-made items like barriers and traps, etc.. Since Stone Free's string is connected to Jolyne's body, she too can interact with stands.
Stand Origin: Despite having the stand potential, Jolyne did not awaken her stand like the other Joestar members until much later in life, as she was absent during DIO's awakening. She first awakened Stone Free in Green Dolphin Street Prison due to her finger being pierced by a piece of the stand arrow, which was inside a gift her father gave her.
Jolyne suddenly woke up from her sleep as she heard a knock on the door. The girl was currently sleeping on one of the guest rooms in the Joestar Mansion.
She looked outside the window to see it was midnight.
Who the hell is up this late?, the older girl asked herself, before walking towards the door and opening it. It was Anasui. Figures.
"What do you want?", asked Jolyne.
Anasui looked down on the ground, before suddenly kneeling on one leg. "I just wanted to apologize for what I did earlier, Jolyne. I couldn't sleep with the idea of upsetting you, so I wanted to personally make things right."
The older girl only looked at him. "Anasui, are you seriously still thinking about that?", she asked him. "Don't you see it's night outside?"
"But if I only upset you when trying to help you, then how good of a boyfriend am I, really?", he quickly stood up to face her. He then held both her hands with his. "You know that I only want to protect and make you happy, but if I can't even do that, then..."
He felt another hand touch his face again, but this time it was a tender touch. It quickly shut him up as he only looked into his girlfriend's eyes.
"Anasui, you're still getting used to being a boyfriend again", Jolyne told him slowly, putting both her hands in Anasui's face. "It's normal for you to make mistakes; you're not going to get it right the first time."
The girl sighed. "I know you'll probably make more mistakes in the future, if today was any indication", she spoke slowly. "But, I won't mind them when you do, because I know you have good intentions for me."
"Jolyne...", the man trailed off with a whisper. He then held one of the girl's hands again.
"I'm only asking you to be patient with everyone else", the girl continued. "They are all just as confused and lost as we are; there's no need to pick a fight when it's not necessary. I'm only asking you to do that and respect my personal space, and I can promise you our relationship will go a long way."
By then the man was kneeled once again, kissing Jolyne's hand as a tear fell from his eye. "Only you can be this forgiving for someone like me, Jolyne. I will always remember your love and kindness..."
As the two made amends for what happened in the afternoon, another person in the mansion was having trouble sleeping, though it was for a completely different reason:
Giorno looked out the window as he held a flower in his hand. Due to the implications of who the Noble One could be, the boy discerned their enemy was his own father, DIO. Not even the usual nightmares he had kept him distracted from this fact.
He wasn't too sure how to feel about his father, as since he was absent unlike his given abusive parents, he couldn't really scale him in terms of how good of a person he was. However, there now stood a good chance that he was the one responsible for causing even more problems for the Joestar family, as well as reviving his dead comrades and putting them against him.
The boy knew DIO was an enemy to the group, that he knew well. However, would him being his son potentially bring about problems? Would the other Joestars be suspicious of him, too?
The lack of sleep was putting intrusive thoughts and ideas in his head, that much he also knew. However, the boy knew one thing was clear.
Noble One. Whoever you are, wherever you are, I'll make sure you never make another decision, the boy declared to himself as he looked as his hand, as if the Noble One was somehow listening to him. You have toyed with not just my allies' lives, but also the lives of several people across time, and for that, you must be defeated. I'm prepared to die to accomplish this goal. That is my resolve.
He then looked at the moon once again. You'll need a stronger resolve than all of ours' together if you want to defeat us. That will be my one and only warning, Nobel One.
Giorno finished his internal monologue before he turned to his guest bed, the boy now lying down to try to sleep for the night. His nightmares continued preventing him from doing so.
Author's Note: I'm not sure if anyone else knows this, but did you know that Trish shouts "MUDA!" and "WRY!" in some of her attacks in ASBR? (Though the "WRY!" could also be something else as it's short compared to DIO and Giorno's) That's why I figured to use them in the baseball training section, along with the entire Jolyne vs Trish interaction. Hope you found the reference a neat addition.
I'm slightly worried that I wrote Jolynesui out-of character, since I never really wrote anything about Jolyne and Anasui before (in fact, I'm pretty much writing every character here for the first time except Giorno). But to be fair, I'm writing a piece of the ship that was never expanded upon canon, as there never would have been any opportunity to. I'm trying to expand upon Jolyne's acceptance to Anasui's proposal at the end of Part 6, which means Anasui has to explore new territory with Jolyne and thus the mistakes. Idk, you tell me if I'm doing a good job.
Also, I hope you're noticing a pattern of chapter uploads. So far I've uploaded each chapter for this fic on a special day, and hopefully the next chapter is uploaded on Valentine's Day (A coincidence too since it'll hopefully also have a bit of GioTrish in there. I just think they're neat).
Also also, I'll be adding stand eye-catches between each section from now, as future chapters will probably need them (almost like a JoJo episode, too, which I find really neat). A similar type of eye-catch will be done with Hamon attacks as well if more come up; let me know what you think of them, if you want.
In any case, thanks for reading the chapter; I'll see everyone later!