Another Week, Another Chapter!
I hope all of you had a wonderful week (っ˘ω˘ς )!
Enjoy! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
Death 13, Part 2
After everyone settled down, Joseph made dinner for everyone, even made some coffee. Polnareff was happily eating his food, Joseph was cooking up some baby food while Noriko sat far from the group. She was alone, her face covered by her hand again while the other holding her food that she hasn't touched yet. She was beginning to doubt herself about her suspicions.
From a distance, Jotaro had withdrawn himself from the group. He was sipping his coffee while gazing up at the dark sky filled with millions of tiny stars.
"Saudi Arabia…" Jotaro thought to himself. "We're roughly eight-thousand, eight-hundred kilometers from Japan. It has been about four weeks since we left. If we don't hurry, things will just get worse…"
He slowly turned around and walked back to the group, passing by a scorpion without knowing. His gaze fell onto the lonely Crusader that sat the farthest from the group. Noriko still hasn't touched her food and had a depressing look on her face despite trying to hide it with her hand while hunched over.
"Noriko…"
A part of himself wanted to walk up to her, wrap his arms around her slender figure to comfort and help her with whatever she's dealing with to bring back her usual talkative, happy self. But he held back against that idea and silently sat down next to Polnareff.
Continuing to stare at Noriko, this was the moment Jotaro was beginning to realize that he didn't see her as a friend, it was something much more than that. He knew these strange feelings had grown much deeper whenever he saw her smile, laugh, have simple conversations with her and fought side by side against enemy Stand users. Staring at her for a longer period of time than he has to.
She is different.
She is the only female that doesn't annoy the hell out of him like the other girls at school. She understood him like nobody else and she knew how to act around him. These feelings were something that only Noriko brought out from him.
That's why now seeing Noriko like this hurts him.
Polnareff leaned over to Jotaro, "Hey, Jotaro, what's going on with Noriko?" Polnareff whispered and looked over at Noriko.
That's one of the biggest questions Jotaro has been asking himself ever since he saw Noriko with a troubled look on her face back in Yarpline.
"She's been like this ever since she had her episode on the plane earlier. And then all of a sudden she goes after the baby too."
Noriko frowned, almost wanting to cry for feeling so miserable at herself.
"She's a danger to herself. I think she's losing it…"
Jotaro frowned at the assumption. The entire time he has known Noriko, she has always been able to pull herself together and fight back even if the situation is difficult.
"She may have to sit out the rest of this journey…"
Whatever Noriko is currently dealing with must be extremely hard for her, but Jotaro knows deep down in himself that she will be able to overcome the problem because Kakyoin, Noriko is someone who's determined to overcome anything that she's forced to face.
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The baby had a devious smirk on his face as he watched Noriko mentally struggle with herself. He silently chuckled to himself.
"I was afraid that Noriko figured out my secret for a second but now… She's even beginning to doubt herself." The baby told himself. "We're in the middle of the desert. I just need to wait for all of them to fall asleep… If there's nobody to wake them up…" He chuckled again.
"That smells really good! What are you making?" Polnareff complimented, moving close to Joseph, watching him stir the food with a wooden spoon.
"It's baby food." Joseph replied. "It has milk, egg yolks, bananas and bread all stewed together." He lifted the wooden spoon with some baby food on it to Polnareff's face.
"Here. Want a taste?" He offered.
Polnareff gulped and opened his mouth, letting the elder Joestar feed him. Chewing the food then swallowing it, he let out a squeal in excitement.
"It's délicieuse!" Polnareff exclaimed. "Now that's the stuff! Gimme more! More!" He begged, eating more of the baby food.
"Hold on! This food is for the baby!" Joseph reminded the Frenchman.
A couple feet away from them, the baby glared at Polnareff with his tiny fists clenched tightly. "That bastard! Don't eat my damn food! I'm hungry! Hurry up and feed me!"
"Tch." He laid back more comfortably in his basket. He looked to the side and widened his eyes when he saw a scorpion crawling in his basket.
"A...A scorpion!"
The scorpion made its way towards him.
"T-This is bad!"
Suddenly the scorpion jumped and charged at him. With quick reflexes, he stabbed the scorpion with a safety pin.
"Phew…" The baby sat up wiping the sweat off his forehead, relieved. "That was close…" However, his heart dropped when he spotted Noriko staring at him with her violet-eyes widened in shock.
"D-Damn it! Noriko saw that happen!"
Noriko stood there frozen, she had just stood up to put away the food that she hadn't touched and when her gaze averted to the baby, she witnessed him kill a scorpion right before her eyes.
"He… He killed a scorpion." Noriko thought. "That baby really is a…"
"Damn it!" The baby cursed.
"You've had enough, Polnareff." Joseph scolded Polnareff, watching him happily take one last bite of the baby food.
"Mr. Joestar! Polnareff! Did you two see that?!" Noriko called out the two Crusaders.
"That baby isn't normal at all!" She points at the baby in his little basket. "He just killed a scorpion! In a blink of an eye! He stabbed it with a safety pin!"
Jotaro put his cup of coffee down and looked at the red-haired girl while Polnareff and Joseph gave each other a brief glance.
"Hold on a minute, Noriko. What are you talking about?" Joseph asked, looking back at Noriko.
"I'm saying that's not a normal baby!" Noriko repeated herself, frowning at the little baby with sweat trailing down her face. "He's not even a year old but he knew what a scorpion was… and he killed it with those tiny hands of his!"
"A scorpion?!" Joseph stood up and quickly rushed over to the baby. He picks up the small baby, looking for any sign of injury on him. "Where?!"
"In here!" Noriko said as she dropped on her knees and began looking through the basket to find the dead insect.
"The dead scorpion on the pin should be here!" She desperately started removing the baby blankets from the basket.
As she kept looking, the rest of the group only stared at her.
"I-It's not in here…" Noriko said, sounding defeated. Looking up at the elder Joestar, she quickly got back on her feet.
"But what I said it's true!" She then turned her attention to the baby in Joseph's arms and tried to grab him.
"Where did you hide it?! Did you hide it in your clothes?!"
"That's enough, Noriko!" Joseph yelled at the teen, moving his arms away to protect the baby from her.
"But Mr. Joestar-!"
"Like I said earlier, you're just tired." Joseph said in a strict tone. "We can talk again tomorrow after you've calmed down." He turned his back on her and walked away to the campfire.
Noriko reached out with her hand to object but it was no longer of any use. She turned her head at the other two Crusaders, Polnareff and Jotaro. They were just staring at her.
Polnareff nodded his head and walked away as well. Leaving the two teens alone. Noriko turned to Jotaro, having a bit of hope that maybe he believed her but he only gave her a blank stare. Without any words being exchanged, seeing his expression already tells Noriko that Jotaro also didn't believe in her.
Not knowing why but Jotaro looking at her that way made her heart ache.
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"Now open wide! It's yummy!" Joseph told the baby who was seated on his lap. He moved the wooden spoon closer to the baby's face but the baby moved his head away.
"Hm? That's weird… You should be hungry by now. Come on now, eat or you'll get sick again. Open wide! Say 'ah'." He said with a smile.
"E-Enough already!" The baby thought. His mouth was shut, refusing to open. "There's a reason why I can't eat right now!"
Noriko slaps the wooden spoon off of Joseph's hand, her face filled with desperation. "Mr. Joestar! I have no doubt in my mind about this! I don't know where he hid the scorpion but I'm one-hundred percent sure he's a Stand user! I have all the proof I need!"
Without any hesitation, Noriko removes the jacket off her shoulders and reveals her left arm, showing them the bloody carved letters.
"Look! Read what it says on my arm! It's a warning! I must've gotten this wound in my sleep!"
They all widened their eyes in shock.
"Noriko, did you do that to yourself?" Jotaro slowly asked her. He wanted to make sure it wasn't what Polnareff assumed earlier.
The question made Noriko glance at everyone. They were all staring at her with sympathy.
"N-Noriko, you really lost it…" Polnareff muttered.
"Oh my god…"
"You dumbass! Wasn't it obvious that if you showed them that, they'd think you went insane?!" The baby thought.
Hurt by their words, Noriko looked down at her wounded arm. "D-Did I make things even worse?" She asked herself before moving her arm down, closing her eyes trying to prevent any incoming tears.
"At this rate I won't have any other choice…" She reopened her eyes with her brows knitted together.
She was determined to prove herself.
"I'll have to use force! Hierophant Green!" Noriko shouted with her Stand manifesting behind her.
Hierophant Green charged at the baby in Joseph's arms to attack but was stopped by Polnareff's Silver Chariot. Polnareff had gotten behind Noriko and had also called out his Stand, using the hilt of Silver Chariot's sword to hit Noriko on the back of her neck to knock her out.
"It's no use...she already lost her mind." Polnareff said.
"I-Impossible… I'm certain JoJo…" She wanted to say as she fell.
"His Stand was the one in our dreams, Polnareff." Blood came out of her mouth from the hit she received from Silver Chariot.
"We can't go to sleep, Mr. Joestar! Everyone, please believe me!" She wanted to warn and beg them. "If everyone goes to sleep, we'll be killed!"
"Please… Believe me!"
Then everything went black for her as her body collapsed on the ground, falling unconscious.
"Yes! I got away without being found out!" The baby cheered to himself. "You bastards lose! All because you didn't believe in your own friend! Victory is mine!"
"How could this happen? Does that mean Noriko won't be able to travel with us anymore?" Polnareff asked, looking down at the unconscious teen on the ground.
Joseph placed the small basket down on the ground after using it as an attempt to protect the baby from Noriko's Hierophant Green. He placed the sleeping baby in the basket before standing back up on his feet, walking over to his grandson and the Frenchman.
"We'll figure out what to do with her in the morning. For now, let's just go to sleep." Joseph said. "Jotaro, move Noriko for me please and Polnareff, go get the sleeping bags."
"Sure." Polnareff said before turning around.
Jotaro, who's been quiet the entire time, silently kneeled down and gently turned Noriko around so her face wouldn't be touching the sand anymore. He wiped the sand off her face with his hand, his fingers brushing against her soft skin. He pulled out a small handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood off the corner of her lips then picked her up bridal-style.
While putting away the baby food, Joseph never took his eyes off of his grandson, watching him being gentle and careful with Noriko. As much as he wanted to tease him for it, it wasn't the right time doing so, especially if they're not sure if Noriko is capable of continuing their trip.
Meanwhile the Crusaders had their backs turned, the baby leaned over from his basket and opened his mouth, spitting out the dead scorpion he killed.
"Did you say something?" Joseph asked Polnareff, who just returned with the sleeping bags.
"Hm? No, they're just a bit heavy when you're carrying all of them at once." Polnareff remarked.
"I'm gonna slice all of you then scatter what's left across the desert!" The baby narrowed his eyes at the group. He then spat out the last piece of the dead scorpion.
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Once they laid their sleeping bags on the ground, all Crusaders went to sleep. Joseph slept next to the baby, Polnareff was sleeping across from them, and Noriko, who was placed in her sleeping bag with the help of Jotaro and Joseph, was put next to the delinquent and were sleeping next to each other.
Jotaro reopened his eyes and found himself in an empty amusement park along with Polnareff and Joseph. They were all still in their sleeping bags and were on some kind of tea-cup ride. Joseph and Polnareff also woke up but Polnareff had a horrified look on his face.
"Why are we sleeping in the middle of an amusement park like a bunch of morons?" Joseph queried as he sat up.
"That's right! I remember now!" Polnareff exclaimed, quickly standing up. "Th-This is…" Everything was coming back to him, he remembered the ferris wheel, Death Thirteen, the dead dog, the empty amusement park. It was the same nightmare again.
"Mr. Joestar! Jotaro! Be careful!" He warned. "I remember all of this...We're inside a dream. It's horrifying, this is a world of nightmares!"
"Oh, so it's just a dream? Guess I'll just go back to sleep then." Joseph yawned before laying back down on his sleeping bag.
"Don't react the same way I did!" Polnareff shouted at the elder Joestar. "Listen! What Noriko said all this time is true! Baby...Stand. We're in the enemy's territory! I know it's unbelievable but that baby is the Stand user!"
Out in the campfire, the enemy Stand user was eating the baby food Joseph had made for him.
"All four of you are asleep. No one will be able to wake you up. You can't escape the world of Death Thirteen! Now I can finish you all for good!" The baby laughed at himself.
Back in the dream world, Polnareff leaned against the rail, feeling terrible for what he did earlier while Joseph and Jotaro walked around.
"Since I knocked out Noriko earlier…" Polnareff muttered. "She should be somewhere in this world!" He jumped over the railing. "We have to go find her quickly!" He sprinted forward, frantically looking for her before coming to a stop.
"Where are you, Noriko?!" He shouted. "I want to say I'm sorry for what I did!"
Both Joseph and Jotaro widened their eyes at Polnareff.
"P-Polnareff! What's wrong with your hair?! Did you mess up styling it?!" Joseph asked.
"Huh?" Looking up, the Frenchman's hair was taller than usual and it grew at a rapid speed, dividing into different sections. Each section of his hair wrapped around two poles and pulled him, letting out a scream.
"Polnareff!" Joseph cried out.
Suddenly, Jotaro's golden chain lifted up and extended. Then it wrapped around his neck, tightly.
"What?!" Jotaro managed to choke out, placing his hands around his chain trying to prevent it from choking him.
Joseph's prosthetic hand inflated large like a balloon, making it fall on the ground.
"HOLY SHIT!" Joseph yelled.
The flowers, fire hydrants and the mail boxes had faces on them and laughed at the Crusaders from their humiliation.
"How are we going to fight this?!" Polnareff asked, frightened. "Just how?! A-Anything can happen here. There's no rhyme or reason to it! We're at his mercy in this world!" He then gasped in realization.
"Wait, there is one rule…" All three Crusaders turned their heads to the side, sensing someone approaching them.
Polnareff recognized the figure and widened his eyes as he continued. "The one to slice us into pieces, will be his Stand and it alone!"
"Lali-ho!"
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"Lali-ho!" Death Thirteen greeted the Joestar group and raised his scythe.
"Star-!"
"It's no use Jotaro! We can't call out our Stands in the dream world!" The Frenchman tried to warn the delinquent.
"-Platinum!"
The warrior-like Stand appeared right before their eyes but in a strange way. His face had a wicked grin, his hair was all over the place, and the way he manifested doing an odd pose.
"H-How…? H-His Stand appeared…" Polnareff stuttered disbelief.
His and Noriko's Stand couldn't manifest earlier so how come Jotaro's did?
Star Platinum slowly turned around and glanced at his user. Instead of attacking Death Thirteen, the purple Stand attacked Jotaro with his barrage of punches. Jotaro was able to protect himself but was thrown backwards between Polnareff and Joseph.
Star Platinum hysterically laughed and a pan spawned out of nowhere in his hand. The Stand repeatedly hit himself with the pan on his face saying 'Ora' and the more he did it, his face kept changing until it turned into Death Thirteen's face.
"Lali-ho! I'm an imposter!" Death Thirteen chanted before the fake Stand transformed itself into Silver Chariot and Star Platinum combined with Death Thirteen's face on it.
Death Thirteen hovered behind the mixed Stand. "This overwhelming power! This absolute fear! It's so exciting!" He then pointed at the three individuals.
"Stands are made up of spiritual energy and while you dream, your spirit is at its most vulnerable state!" Death Thirteen informed. "My Stand, Death Thirteen, has trapped spirits in the state they were in when you fell asleep, and that's why you can't summon your Stands! However…"
His scythe cut the mixed Stand's head off, transforming into Silver Chariot's head. "If you had summoned your Stands before you fell asleep…" He pushed the head off from the blade with his finger by flicking it. "...you could've brought them with you, like your clothes, the sleeping bags, and that prosthetic hand." He slowly approached them, hovering above them.
"Death Thirteen will never have to fight other Stands!" Death Thirteen stated. "And since Stands can only be beaten by other Stands, I can never lose!"
The Stand chuckled, unaware of the rustling sound behind him from the grass that something or someone was heading their direction. Their vision turned white for a split second from exiting the grass, seeing the ground then glancing up at the reaper-like Stand. Then it decided to crawl its way up to Death Thirteen's head.
"Now, let me hear it! I want to hear your screams to signify how pleased I am for this easy victory!" Death Thirteen sadistically said.
A green tendril appeared behind Death Thirteen's head, right above him. The Crusaders widened their eyes, recognizing who it belonged to.
"Lali-...ho?" Death Thirteen turned his head to the side when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
It was Hierophant Green. "Lali-ho." Noriko's voice chanted, greeting herself to him.
"Oh, you're that imposter I made earlier." Death Thirteen said and flicked his finger at Hierophant Green's face.
Suddenly Hierophant Green's hands wrapped around Death Thirteen's neck, tightly.
Gasping for air, Death Thirteen tried to turn his head to the side again. "W-What?! I-Impossible! T-This isn't a fake! This is the real Hierophant Green!"
Hierophant Green's golden eyes only stared at Death Thirteen as she applied more pressure on the Stand's neck. While Death Thirteen is trying to gasp for air, Polnareff's extremely long hair disappeared and so did Joseph's inflated prosthetic hand and Jotaro's long chain.
Polnareff spotted a familiar figure in front of them. "L-Look! It's Noriko!" Polnareff pointed. "She's over there!"
Noriko was sitting on one of the tea cups with a sly smirk on her face. "When I was knocked unconscious did you forget that I had my Hierophant Green out? I had my Hierophant hide underground before I fell asleep." She informed everyone.
"H-Help me!" Death Thirteen begged.
Noriko narrowed her eyes, "Now, it's time for your punishment, baby."
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By the campfire, the baby dropped his spoon with his little hands around his neck trying to breathe. "D-Damn you! You bitch!" He cursed.
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"AAAGHH! Let go of me!" Death Thirteen started flailing around in the sky, swinging his scythe all over the place trying to slash Hierophant Green.
"Quit it now, Death Thirteen!" Noriko threatened. "It will never leave your blind spot! If you keep resisting…" She jumps out of the tea-cup ride. "...even if you're just a baby, I will end up breaking your neck."
"Noriko!"
Noriko averted her attention to her friends and gave them a genuine smile as they approached her.
"Noriko, we really owe you an apology." Joseph stated.
"I really thought you had lost it, Noriko…" Polnareff admitted, feeling guilty. "I didn't believe you and I'm very sorry for that. You fought this battle all by yourself."
While Polnareff spoke, Jotaro now has more respect for Noriko. He admired her determination, self-preservation and strong will to keep them all safe.
"That's okay, I don't blame you. There's nothing you could've done." Noriko smiled. "I had no clue on how I would bring my Stand into the dream world but after you hit me, it gave me an idea. I should honestly be thanking you, Polnareff."
"I-Is that so?" Polnareff blushed in embarrassment while rubbing the back of his head. "T-Talk about conflicted feelings!"
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Polnareff giggled in his sleep while the baby was still being choked.
"S-She's holding back because I'm a baby…" The baby managed to let out a dark chuckle and glanced at the sleeping red-haired teen.
"Noriko! Your naivety will be the death of you! You're still inside my nightmare world!"
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The atmosphere in the dream world shifted quickly. The sky changed color and the clouds gathered together to where Death Thirteen is.
"H-Hey! What's going on with the clouds?!" Polnareff asked.
"They're moving together towards us!" Joseph pointed out.
"Don't try anything funny, Death Thirteen!" Noriko yelled, seeing the clouds circle right above Death Thirteen and Hierophant Green.
The clouds formed into one giant cloud in the shape of a ball.
"Noriko! Get Hierophant Green away from his back now!" Jotaro cried out but it was too late.
The giant ball cloud extended into the shape of an arm and hand. It grabbed Death Thirteen's scythe.
"What?!" Noriko widened her eyes.
"I'll slice you in half!" Death Thirteen declared and the cloud-shaped fist swung the scythe across both Stands.
"I-Impossible!" Noriko gasped. "He chopped himself… i-in half…"
Hierophant Green lets go of Death Thirteen, falling backwards as so did her user. Noriko collapsed on the ground.
"NORIKO!" The Crusaders cried out, seeing their friend on the ground.
Jotaro felt pure rage and wished he had Star Platinum with him to beat the shit out of the reaper-like Stand to avenge his red-headed friend.
"Lali-ho!" Death Thirteen opened its robe, revealing an empty space where his body was supposed to be. "Haven't you realized it yet? My Stand, Death Thirteen has no body! It's just hollow!" He said as he grabbed the scythe that fell from the sky.
"Death Thirteen is nothing but a head, arms and a giant scythe! You dumbasses!"
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In the real world, the baby was laughing to himself for his victory. He looked over at Noriko's body from the corner of his eye.
"Now… Noriko's body should be split in half inside her sleeping bag right now…"
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"Just kidding!" Noriko chuckled, standing back on her feet wiping the dust off her uniform.
"Noriko!"
"A-Are you alright?" Joseph asked, concerned.
Noriko smiled, "Why don't you take a closer look? My Hierophant isn't careless enough to stay on his back forever."
Death Thirteen gasped, feeling something long and slimy entering from his ear. A green tendril manifested itself, revealing Hierophant Green. The rest of his robe was snatched off from the humanoid green Stand. The Stand was entering Death Thirteen's head through his ear.
"S-She was never chopped in half! She turned herself into a string and now she's crawling into my ear!" Death Thirteen thought to himself.
In a desperate attempt, he tried to swing his scythe at Hierophant Green, only for the Stand to dodge it. Hierophant Green extended her arms out and entered through the other ear.
Death Thirteen continued to wail and whine from the pain and suddenly his own arm began to move on it's own.
"M-My arm is moving on its own!" His arm was moved to position the scythe right next to his neck while Hierophant Green successfully entered inside him.
"I-It's completely inside me!"
"Like I said. Hierophant Green was in your blind spot so your scythe couldn't touch her!" Noriko stated. "Now…" She lifted her left arm with the blood letters carved on it.
"If you're not happy with your insides being torn up, why don't you heal the wound on my arm?" She asked. "Anything is possible in a dream. So you should be able to heal my wound, correct?"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" Death Thirteen agreed, admitting defeat.
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Morning rose and Noriko was the first person to wake up. She had been preparing breakfast for everyone and once she was done, she stood up and walked over to the sleeping Crusaders.
"Alrighty everyone, time to wake up! It's morning!" She clanked the pan and the spoon together.
Polnareff stirred with a groan.
"Come on, Polnareff. Wake up already. Breakfast is ready." Noriko said, walking over to him and kneeling down. She placed her delicate hand gently on his chest, shaking him awake.
She stood back up and gave each Crusader a small towel to use to wipe their faces clean from the nearby water.
Polnareff splashed the water on his face as he let out a sigh. "I feel like I had a terrible dream." He muttered.
"Same here." Joseph said. "I don't remember what happened but I know it was terrifying."
Jotaro only responded with a grunt under his breath while wiping his face with a towel.
Polnareff then remembered something. He gasped, "Noriko!"
He rushed over to Noriko, who was mixing some food in a pot.
"Noriko, a-are you all right?" He queried.
"What do you mean, Polnareff?" Noriko asked, not taking her eyes off from her cooking.
"Don't give me, 'what do you mean'?! You totally lost it last night! You even cut letters in your… arm…?"
The red-haired teen was no longer wearing her jacket, having both her arms exposed. Her left arm was bare and smooth. The words that were carved into her arm were gone.
"Huh?! T-The wound is gone?!" Polnareff blinked.
"I'm going to change the baby's diaper." Noriko simply said, standing up holding a small bowl and walked over to the baby, ignoring Polnareff's question.
"Come on now, it's morning already." Noriko tells the baby, sounding all motherly. She kneeled down and set the bowl to the side.
"She's even getting along with the baby…" Polnareff commented. "Maybe I was just dreaming the whole time…"
Noriko picked up the baby from the basket into her arms, she let out a short chuckle. "So… Did you sleep well?" She asked the baby.
She laid the baby on the ground and undid his diaper, she had an amused smile on her face. The baby was staring back at her with wide-eyes and a frightened expression.
"It seems everyone has forgotten." Noriko said in a low voice. "A Stand whose existence is completely forgotten… Quite an unusual Stand indeed." Her eyes darkened, staring down at him. "But I remember everything because I was the only one who brought a Stand in the dream…"
"Listen," She continued. "Because you're a baby, I won't mortally wound you or injure you at all. We'll take you to a nearby town. You need to go back to your mother. But let me warn you, don't ever come near us again." She threatened. "If you do, I'll punish you." She lifted up a small metal spoon and used it to pick up a tiny bit of his feces.
She held it high up for him to see. "Just like this…"
"M-My poop?"
Noriko dropped the tiny piece of poop onto the bowl of baby food and mixed it.
The baby's eyes widened in horror with a gasp.
"Oh! I see you made some baby food, Noriko!" Joseph said in a cheerful tone, approaching the red-haired teen.
Noriko had changed the baby's diaper quickly before Joseph showed up. "Yes I did, Mr. Joestar." She said with a smile.
"All right! I'm sure you must be very hungry by now." Joseph said and picked up the baby and the small bowl.
"H-Hey! Don't you dare!" The baby glared at Joseph, watching him get closer to him.
Joseph picked up the baby and the bowl, he sat down by a nearby rock and placed the baby on his lap.
"Come on, it's yummy! Open wiiiide." Joseph said, holding a spoonful of baby food mixed with feces.
He moved the spoon closer to the baby's face but the baby only moved his head away, refusing to open his mouth again like yesterday.
"This again? I wonder what he has against this stuff…" Joseph said. "If you keep this up I might have to force feed you."
"Please don't!" The baby begged, moving his face away again.
"Hey, hey, Mr. Joestar. He'll only hate it if you force him." Polnareff said. "For situations like this…" He walked over to the baby and began tickling him.
As much as he tried to hold in his laughter, he ended up opening his mouth and Joseph shoved the baby food into his mouth.
"WAAAAHHH!" The baby whined.
"See? Wasn't that yummy?" Joseph smiled at the baby.
From across from them, Jotaro was drinking his coffee and Noriko had a smile on her face, watching Joseph and Polnareff feed the baby.
"Ba-dum-tss." Noriko muttered, receiving a confused look from Jotaro.
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The Crusaders were rescued by the Speedwagon Foundation and they dropped off the baby at a nearby town. They traveled through the Arabian Peninsula and took a boat to cross the Red Sea. However…
Jotaro noticed his grandfather was taking a different route, "Hey Gramps, something's wrong. You're heading the wrong way." He looked over at his grandfather. "Shouldn't we be going west, directly to Egypt?" He lifted up his hand and pointed in front of them.
"You're heading towards that island." He stated.
"Yeah, that's right." Joseph said. "I have my reasons for not mentioning it earlier but… before we enter Egypt, we need to make this detour to meet someone very important."
Both Noriko and Jotaro shook their heads, knowing perfectly who Joseph was talking about except for Polnareff.
"He's a man of great importance to our journey."
"A man of great importance?" Polnareff asked, still confused by who he's talking about.
To Be Continued...
As always, I really appreciate all the kudos, bookmarks and hits! (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄) I'm glad all of you are enjoying the story! (´,,•ω•,,)
Our Joot has finally realized he's in love! ～('▽^人) But what about our precious Noriko? Who knows when she'll realize her feelings. („ಡωಡ„)
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and upcoming week! Cya next time! ～('▽^人)