Chapter 8: 1888, Hamon
It was summer now and Rainy was getting closer and closer to the solution of creating life. So they were quite annoyed when Speedwagon suddenly burt into the lab that they had claimed as their own in the university.
Their mood quickly switched when they saw the dried tear tracks on the man's face.
"Robby? What's wrong?"
"It's JoJo! He's in the hospital!"
"What?" Rainy stepped away from their workbench. "What happened?"
Speedwagon ushered them out of the university and the two of them hastened to the hospital as Speedwagon explained their uncovering of Dio's plot and the consequent confrontation.
"Wait, JoJo found out about Dio poisoning his father in January and waited this long to do something about it?"
"He wanted to give Dio the chance to change his ways, I think," Speedwagon shrugged, "He's quite naive like that. And he's been checking his father's medicine rigorously ever since! Lord Joestar was already doing better. But last night I stayed at the Joestar mansion and-"
"Wait, what were you doing at the Joestar mansion?"
Speedwagon cleared his throat in embarrassment, "Don't worry about it. Anyhow, we confronted Dio, who had unexpectedly come home during the week. We suspected that he was there to finish Lord Joestar off the old fashioned way. But he had this strange mask with him and when he put it on," Speedwagon slowed down his steps, "It was like nothing I had ever seen before, some sort of… creature."
"I know what you mean."
He turned around to them, "You do?"
"It must have been around the same time yout met Jonathan," Rainy nodded, "Dio and I were out in town. We got into a fight with some drunks and Dio used the mask on one of them."
"How did you survive?! JoJo barely survived."
The hobbit shrugged, "Mostly convenient timing. Anyway, how exactly did JoJo end up in the hospital?"
Speedwagon sped up again as he gave his friend a run-down of Jonathan's fight with Dio. "I had thought he was dead after that fall," he concluded, "But the lucky bastard pulled through."
They arrived at the hospital and were led towards Jonathan's room, where Dr Pendleton had just finished bandaging the rest of Jonathan's wounds.
Erina had been in the room as well and now flung herself at Rainy to envelope them in a hug. "It's so terrible!," she cried, "How could Dio do such a thing?"
Rainy patted her back awkwardly. Should she maybe have told someone about the poison? Well, it was too late now anyway.
—
Jonathan remained unconscious in the hospital for a week. Then, when he woke up, he was required to stay on bed rest for another month–something he complained about, often.
After that month was up, Jonathan was finally released–still covered in bandages–and told not to strain his body.
Rainy was accompanying Jonathan and Erina on a walk when a man with a tall, checkered, top hat suddenly stood in their way.
"Signore Joestar," the man said, "and Signorina Pendleton, and… scusi but I don't seem to know who you are," the last bit was said to Rainy.
"You may call me Signore Baggins," Rainy proclaimed.
The man's eyebrow twitched in amusement, "Very well, Signore Baggins. I am pleased to make your acquaintance."
"Just who are you?" Jonathan demanded.
The man bowed with a Rainy-worthy flourish before jabbing Jonathan with his pinky. As Jonathan sunk breathlessly to the ground, the man casually pulled a sandwich out of his suit and started salting it.
"Baron Zeppeli, at your service."
"He was already hurt, you cad!" Erina cried as she and Rainy helped Jonathan back up.
Jonathan's arm made a series of popping noises and he cried out before realizing that instead of being hurt, his arm was actually healing.
"My shattered bones are completely healed!"
"Yes," the man began to eat his sandwich, "I hit you in the diaphragm to alter your breathing. Now you will be able to use the energy known as hamon."
"Woah!" Rainy exclaimed, though she still had no idea what hamon was, "Do me next!"
"With pleasure!" Zeppeli pulled back his arm for another strike.
"Hold on just a moment!" Jonathan interrupted. "What exactly are you talking about?"
Zeppeli sighed and explained the concept of hamon to them by demonstrating the ripple effect on a stone with a frog on it. The stone was split in two with the frog remaining untouched.
"Can we let the strange Italian do his weird thing to me now?" Rainy asked Jonathan.
"If that's what you want."
"Hit me!" the hobbit cheered, spreading their arms widely.
Zeppeli did what he was told and knocked the air out of their small body. Rainy landed on the floor with a thump.
"Now, I have come to tell you that the master of the stone mask, Dio Brando, is still alive."
"What? It can't be!" Jonathan exclaimed.
Rainy said nothing, still coughing on the floor.
—
And so they began to train with the mysterious Zeppeli.
They would be training with him for months, interspersed with working on their university work. After all, they didn't have any leads on where Dio was.
On one of their university days, Jonathan and Rainy made their way towards the Pendleton estate. They had become frequent visitors there after the Joestar mansion burned to the ground.
Today, Jonathan seemed nervous about something.
"What is it?" Rainy prompted.
Jonathan blushed, "It's just, I wish to propose to Erina once we've graduated and Dio is defeated."
"That's a grand idea!" Rainy agreed, "I'm sure you'll be happy!"
"Yes, I think so too. It's just…well, I can talk about this with you, man to man, can't I?"
Rainy might have felt slightly bad for their continuous ruse if they weren't so nosy, "Of course!"
"Well, alright then, it's just that I, well, I've never been with someone. I know most men don't wait for marriage but I never quite had any opportunities, so to speak, so I just never-"
"Wanna practice?" Rainy interrupted.
"I- what?"
Rainy shrugged but couldn't help themselves from grinning. "I mean, if you really want to ensure you don't embarrass yourself on your wedding night, the only solution is to practice, isn't it?"
Jonathan's cheeks reddened even more, "But what about Erina?"
"You're right, she should join too," Rainy nodded, pulling a dumbfounded Jonathan along faster to the Pendleton mansion.
—
The three of them lay in bed together, covered in a thin layer of sweat, when Rainy asked, "So if you've never been with anyone, what exactly were you and Speedwagon doing the night Dio tried to kill you?"
"Well… we were interrupted, so I don't think it counts."
Erina looked at him curiously, "And when exactly were you interrupted?"
Jonathan cleared his throat, "How about we talk about the fact that Rainy's not a man!"
"Eh, you agreed to fuck me before you knew."
"That's no- I just mean, why is your name Randal if you're not a man?"
Erina broke out in giggles as Rainy groaned into a pillow, "I can't believe Dio named me Randal."
"And you?" Jonathan turned towards Erina, "You knew all along?"
"Since the day we met," Erina confirmed.
"And no one told me?"
"It was funny," the blondes said simultaneously.
Jonathan shook his head, "Seven years," he muttered.
The blondes only laughed at his put-upon expression.