Chapter 7: 1888, Ogres and Other Creatures
Rainy devoted themselves almost entirely to their studies. But this didn't mean they turned away from their friends, they were just better than Viktor Frankenstein that way.
Everyone around them, however, had largely focused on other things.
Dio, for his part, was busy poisoning his adoptive father in preparation for taking over the Joestar fortune. The dosages were small enough that the changes to George's health were small enough for the man to not notice until it was too late. He was almost entirely bed-bound now.
Jonathan, while also devoting much of his time to his studies, was often distracted by the blondes in his life. Whether it was courting Erina, trying to avoid Dio's scheming or getting into trouble alongside Rainy, something was always bound to be afoot.
Robby, meanwhile, had become the leader of the criminals within Ogre Street. He went by his last name, Speedwagon, now but was still largely referred to as Robby by Rainy and his closest friends.
Tom, too, had changed his name and now went by Tattoo. He had tried to get a butterfly tattooed on his face a year prior to this decision–it hadn't quite come out right but at least it made for a funny story afterwards.
Richard had left them a few years ago–he wasn't dead, he'd just left for his parent's home country–but John had remained with them. His English, just like Rainy's had become very fluent over the years but he still went by the name that Speedwagon and Tattoo had assigned him all those years ago.
Which led us to the current situation at hand.
"The plonker stopped my knife with his bare hands!" Tattoo called out when Jonathan, indeed, caught the thug's blade in his bare fist.
"You dimwit!" Tattoo mocked, "One tug and you'll have lost your fingers!"
"Try it then," Jonathan challenged him, "Once you pull back, there's nothing protecting your groin from my foot! I am here to protect my family, so I can afford to lose four fingers. How about you?"
Trying to use Jonathan's distraction to his advantage, John Doe rushed towards the noble but was intercepted by a brutal punch to the cheekbone. It seemed as if this young man wasn't as easy of a picking as they had previously assumed.
"Tell me, where can I obtain Eastern medicines here?" Jonathan demanded, kicking Tattoo to the snow-covered ground as well.
"You can afford to lose a few fingers, eh?" Speedwagon flicked the brim of his hat, revealing it to be made of a hidden buzz-saw. "Let's dance then!"
He expertly juggled his hat once before throwing it in Jonathan's direction with deadly accuracy.
The Joestar heir covered his face with his crossed arms and caught the hat by letting it cut deep into his lower right arm. As Speedwagon ran towards him, he brought his leg up in another brutal kick, catapulting his attacker through the air.
The rest of Speedwagon's gang encroached on Jonathan, who got back into a defensive position. That's when Speedwagon noticed that no matter how much his face smarted, Jonathan could surely have done a lot more damage to him and his friends.
"Wait," he called off his other men and turned to Jonathan, "You surely could have killed me and my mates just now. It would have been your right after we attacked."
"I don't believe that," Jonathan denied, "I am only here for my father's sake. There's no reason for me to hurt you."
Speedwagon stood up, shaking the snow off of him, "Tell me the name of the one who spared me," he demanded.
"Jonathan Joestar," the man replied, righting the hat that had fallen off his head in the fight.
Speedwagon narrowed his eyes then, "Jonathan Joestar, eh? You wouldn't happen to be Rainy's friend, JoJo, would you?"
Jonathan's eyes widened in surprise, "I am! How do you know him?"
The blond chuckled slightly at the pronoun but didn't comment on it. "Ah, Rainy and us go way back."
"We met him when we were kids!" Tattoo supplied, having gotten off the ground by then, "We wouldn't have attacked you if we knew you were Rainy's friend, honest!"
John nodded, "We can help you find that dealer you're looking for."
"I would be much obliged," Jonathan nodded.
"Well, then follow me," Speedwagon motioned him forward, "But be careful, that man is a sly fox–not to be trusted."
"I know the type," Jonathan sighed, thinking of his adopted brother.
—
Said adopted brother was currently stumbling through the outskirts of London, badly supported by his oldest friend (not that he would ever call her that).
"I really didn't think you were such a lightweight," the hobbit complained as they held up the man twice their size.
"Shut up, I'm not that drunk."
"Oh yeah? Walk on your own then," the hobbit went to move away but was stopped by his tight grip, "That's what I thought."
As they stumbled along, Dio happened to bump into one of two old drunks passing by them.
"Oi! Watch where you're going, boy!" the man shouted. He was ignored by the two blondes.
"You snot-nosed brat! Don't you know to listen to your elders!" the other one called after them.
"I think he left a piss stain on my coat," the first one remarked.
Rainy snatched the bottle of Irish whiskey from Dio's hand and with pin-point accuracy threw it at the first man's head. It broke and knocked the man out, covering him in alcohol.
"Now the coat is definitely stained," the hobbit muttered, continuing to drag Dio along. The taller blond let out an uncharacteristic giggle. He really was drunk.
"You bastards!" the other man yelled, pulling out a knife, "I'll show you two what happens if you mess with your betters!"
Quick as a rattlesnake, Dio's arm shot out against their opponent and placed a curious stone mask on the man's face. Rainy instinctually followed their friend's lead and tripped the man with an outstretched leg. He fell head first into a puddle of his friend's blood.
"Do you always carry around weird artefacts to distract your opponents with?" Rainy questioned but was ignored as Dio watched the downed man with interest.
The mask suddenly grew spines that shot into the man's head, no doubt digging deep into his brain.
"Holy shit!" Rainy yelled and the two covered their eyes as a bright light emanated from the mask.
When the light was gone, the man lay motionless on the cobblestones.
"Huh," Rainy concluded, "I kinda thought there was going to be more to that."
As if to prove her wrong, the man's fingers began to twitch. The mask fell off his face when he stood back up and revealed ashen grey skin and wide, dead-looking eyes.
The man advanced towards them, one hand outstretched in front of him.
"He doesn't look very human anymore," Rainy said with urgency in their voice.
"I don't think he is," Dio agreed, suddenly a lot less drunk, and pulled out a pocket knife.
The man didn't hesitate to walk right into it, cleaving his hand in two without even flinching.
"I think we should run," Rainy concluded, pushing Dio along.
Before they could get far, the man–creature?–lunged towards them, throwing Dio all the way to the end of the street where a river cut through town.
Rainy picked up the knife that Dio had dropped and stood in front of their friend. Suddenly they remembered another blond figure, plunging down on a large pale creature, embedding his dagger in its head to kill it.
Having nothing convenient to plunge down from, Rainy decided to duck below the creature's outstretched arms and slam their weight against it. The creature stumbled enough for the hobbit to plunge the knife into its head, felling it.
Quickly, Rainy rushed towards Dio's side. The blond was bleeding from his head but still conscious.
"Are you alright?"
"Peachy," he replied sarcastically.
Before Rainy could retort in an equally sarcastic manner, the creature got back up and advanced towards them again, faster this time.
"Oh, come on," the hobbit complained, getting ready to try and fight it off again.
The sun was slowly rising at this point and just as the creature was about to lunge for them, it was hit by the first beams of the upcoming sun. It screamed in agony as it slowly burned to dust.
"Huh. That was convenient timing."
Dio groaned from where we had pushed himself up into a sitting position, "I am never going drinking with you again."
End Note: This is originally set in December of 1888, so all the hamon stuff and "defeating" Dio (like, three times or sth) happens within two months, with Phantom Blood ending in February of 1889. I decided to fuck the timeline up a bit tho so it's actually January 1888 and the timeline will be more spread out. I doubt this will affect the plot much, I just wanted to point it out.