This is a commission fic for aceplantmom on Tumblr who wanted a story based around the headcanon that Josuke loses a hand just like Joseph during the Kira fight. Hope you enjoy!

Fathers and Sons

A JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Fanfic

When Josuke is caught in the blast from Stray Cat he ends up with an injury mirroring his father. Will Joseph be able to help him through the aftermath?

Josuke needed to finish this. They were trapped like cornered mice in this house. Josuke's shoulder was burning from his injury, Hayato looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown, and Okuyasu was…

No, don't think about that right now, Josuke snapped inwardly, tearing his thoughts away from his friend with difficulty. He had to focus. He had to think about how he could get to Kira. Get within range to use Crazy Diamond without getting killed instantly. What he wouldn't give for a long-range Stand right now—what he wouldn't give for some backup of any kind.

"Josuke!"

Hayato's voice tore Josuke's eyes away from the window where he had been trying to detect any movement from Kira that would tell them what he was planning. The kid's eyes were wide with terror as he pointed to something.

"It's another air bullet! It just came through the wall!" Hayato pointed a shaking finger at the air and Josuke was able to spot the rippling iridescence of the bubble. "Quick! Get something to pop it!"

Josuke looked around, unable to find anything useful, when he noticed the bubble following him with every movement he made.

"Josuke…"

"What the hell?" he demanded, stepping back again only to have the bubble follow.

"It's…it's homing toward you!" Hayato gasped. "Josuke, you have to run! Get out of its path!"

He didn't need to tell him twice. Josuke staggered back, nearly tripping over the stairs before he started up them, hoping that the bubble would keep to a straight line.

To his shock and horror, it made a sharp turn and started rising, following him up the stairs.

Josuke tripped, gripping the railing. What the hell was he going to do? He could jump over the bannister but there was no guarantee that the bubble wouldn't follow him even then. How was Kira doing this?

"Hayato, look out the window and see if Kira is watching me somehow," he said as he continued to creep backward up the stairs.

Hayato ran to the window, peeking through the curtains. "He's out there, but…I don't know how he could see you. Josuke, something seems wrong, I don't…"

Josuke gritted his teeth and brought Crazy Diamond out, having his Stand form a heart-shaped projectile, almost an arrowhead, out of some broken glass. Using more of his dried blood, he had his Stand line up a shot, aiming directly for the spot Kira was currently standing.

Crazy Diamond sent the projectile flying, and Josuke exhaled slightly before he heard Hayato shout again.

"Josuke! The bubble!"

Josuke whipped around just in time to see the bubble only about two feet in front of him. He only had a second to be aware of the danger before an explosion ripped through the air directly in front of him.

Josuke felt the blast nearly full on, the impact sending him flying, tearing through the stair railing as it was decimated by the explosion.

Josuke barely registered thudding to the ground, everything around him dull and muffled. His ears were ringing but he became aware bit by bit of someone screaming his name.

"Josuke! Josuke!"

He managed a groan, trying to push himself upright but agony tore through him, and he was slipping in something. God, everything hurt.

Hands grabbed his coat, pulling him backwards as Josuke cried out in pain. "No…don't…" he tried.

"Your piece of glass didn't hit him! We have to get out of here before he comes in," Hayato cried insistently.

Josuke attempted to roll onto his back, but there was a piece of splintered wood impaling his side, another through his leg, and so much blood he couldn't get purchase against the ground with his hands.

His hands.

Hand…

Josuke blinked, unable to even process what he was seeing at first. His right hand covered in blood, the left hand, just the ragged remains of his sleeve.

He let out a strangled sound, feeling the sudden urge to vomit. His hand was gone. His hand was gone. What the hell was actually happening anymore?

"Oh god, oh god," Hayato was murmuring, obviously also having recognized Josuke's condition. He was pale, hands gripping his hair before he seemed to gather himself and said, "Josuke, you need to stop the bleeding. Get your belt."

"I—I can't," Josuke huffed, feeling light-headed already, transfixed as he watched blood gush unimpeded from the stump of his wrist.

Hayato rushed over and struggled with Josuke's belt for a minute, before ripping it off, sending stabs of agony through Josuke whenever he accidently bumped the giant stake of splintered railing through his side.

Hayato gritted his teeth as he helped Josuke tie the belt around his wrist. Josuke pulled it tight with his other hand, tears of agony leaking out of his eyes as he fought to breathe through the sensation of vertigo that was threatening to overwhelm him.

"Come on, he's coming. Kira's coming!" Hayato urged, grabbing Josuke again.

Josuke was barely able to help as Hayato dragged him around the corner, just breathing heavily to try and stay conscious.

"You should get out of here, kid," he managed to grit out. "Go find the others. I don't…" He swallowed hard, bile rising in his throat. "I don't think I can do this alone. You gotta go find Jotaro."

Hayato glanced over his shoulder in panic. Josuke could also see Kira coming up the walk, closer and closer to the door.

"Go!" Josuke snapped.

Hayato gave him a look and squeezed his shoulder briefly before sprinting to the back of the house.

A second later, the door opened and Josuke pressed himself closer to the wall, hugging his injured arm against his chest, trying to keep it up in some attempt to slow the bleeding. He could still feel the blood seeping into his shirt, soaking his skin. He swallowed down a whimper, shutting his eyes briefly.

Slow footsteps paced through the front of the house and Josuke felt himself shaking with terror when they stopped as if Kira were looking around. Looking for him. Would he even be able to use Crazy Diamond in his current condition?

"Are you still alive, Higashikata?" came the mocking, yet slightly wary voice from around the corner.

Josuke tried to be as silent as possible, trying to muster the energy to manifest Crazy Diamond.

The footsteps resumed and were coming closer. Of course they were, because Josuke had left a trail of blood that anyone could follow. Kira was toying with him. His only chance was to evade him long enough to give the others a chance to arrive.

If they even did. They should be at the corner where they'd all agreed to meet, but maybe they had gotten tired of waiting. Josuke tried to bite back the fear that was welling up inside of him, the hopelessness. He clutched the bloody remains of his hand closer to his chest, hoping for some miracle as he started to scoot further down the hallway, looking for a room to hide in.

The footsteps rounded the corner and stopped.

"Ah, there you are. Still kicking, then."

Josuke glowered up at Kira who smirked.

"Don't look so mad. I was always going to win. Fate is on my side today."

"Then why don't you just kill me?" Josuke demanded, voice weaker than he would have liked.

Kira chucked. "At this point, why bother getting my hands dirty? With the amount of blood you're currently losing, I don't think you have much longer."

Josuke gritted his teeth and called out Crazy Diamond. His Stand appeared, a faint figure, then flickered.

Josuke was forced to release his hold, gasping as he felt his energy drain further.

Kira stepped forward, now right in front of him and reached down, grabbing a fistful of Josuke's hair.

Josuke growled a protest, trying to focus on anything that would keep him from passing out right in front of his enemy.

"You know, for a moment, I feared you would be trouble for me," Kira commented, looking Josuke over critically. "But it turns out my initial thought was correct. You are little more than a speedbump I have to get over to continue on my way to living a quiet life. Once I'm done with Jotaro Kujo and your other companions, I will simply slip away, unimpeded."

"You really think you're gonna escape them?" Josuke demanded. "Even if you kill me, there are others to take you out. And you'll pay for your sins in the afterlife."

Kira chuckled again and released Josuke, turning his back to fully show off just how little he worried about the injured teenager. "If that's true, then why have I lived a charmed life? Perhaps you should look to yourself before you make such claims, Higashikata."

Josuke manifested Crazy Diamond for just long enough to shoot another one of his glass hearts, right at Kira's back.

Killer Queen manifested to deflect it, but not quick enough. The piece of glass slammed into Kira's shoulder, causing him to stagger forward with a surprised grunt, but he didn't fall. Josuke's aim was off, and that had been his only chance for a killing blow. He slumped back in defeat.

Kira spun around, fury on his face now as he held his arm awkwardly, lips curling in rage.

"You little punk shit," he snarled. "You attack me when my back is turned?!"

He stormed over and shoved his foot against the piece of wood protruding from Josuke's thigh.

Josuke screamed in pain, trying to get away, only to have Kira kick him onto his side, crouching beside him as he gripped both the splintered wood in Josuke's side and the stump of his hand.

"I am Yoshikage Kira, and I will be the victor in this fight."

Josuke screamed again, throat raw as Kira dug fingers into his bloody wrist and started to pull the stake from his side.

"What do you have to say now, you insufferable brat? Do you believe me yet?"

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

Kira's hands were suddenly pulled from Josuke and it must have been the pain that made him hallucinate Okuyasu's voice because it couldn't be. It couldn't be.

"What the hell?" Kira muttered, incredulous. "You're dead."

Josuke pried his eyes open and his heart stopped as he saw Okuyasu standing there behind Kira, The Hand at his shoulder.

"Well, I guess it didn't stick," Okuyasu said, blinking. He raised his hand, his Stand mirroring the motion and Kira actually staggered to his feet, looking shaken.

Sounds could be heard from outside the house and Kira glanced out the window briefly before looking around the house rapidly as if for somewhere to run.

"This isn't over," he snapped.

"No, don't—don't let him get away!" Josuke cried, voice hoarse, trying to push himself up. He simply collapsed onto the floor again.

"Josuke!" Okuyasu ran toward him, crouching down. "Aw, man, you're messed up bro."

"Kira…"

"Josuke, take it easy," Okuyasu said, pushing him back, eyes growing wide with worry as he took stock of Josuke's injuries. Injuries that were quickly bleeding his energy. Or maybe that was just the blood that refused to stop leaking out of him. "The others are out there. They'll make sure he doesn't get away."

Josuke sagged, eyelids flickering, before he finally reached out with his good hand to grip Okuyasu's sleeve.

"You're alive," he murmured.

Okuyasu gave a wan grin, eyes brimming slightly. "Yeah, dude, it was real weird. But I'll tell you about it later, okay?…let's get you some help. Josuke? Oi! Josuke, you with me?!"

Josuke could hear him but he couldn't reply. The darkness was dragging him down and he was too tired to fight it anymore.

Josuke blinked his eyes open, looking around in confusion. He was sitting on a bench facing the ocean. Where was he? Still in Morioh, he assumed, though there was no one around. The beach seemed to be completely deserted, and aside from the normal sound of the waves, it was silent.

An anxious feeling started to bubble up in his chest and he made to stand up, try to go find someone to tell him where he was. That was when he looked down and saw that one of his hands was flesh and blood but the other…

It looked like Crazy Diamond's hand but it was made completely of articulating metal pieces.

Josuke shook, horror seeping in as memories of his fight against Kira started to surface. What was he gonna do now? He was missing a whole hand!

And where was everyone? He had to go find them, had to go help them fight Kira. But could he? Could he even use Crazy Diamond now with his injuries? Or would he just prove useless and get people killed.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, you know."

Josuke was so shocked by the sudden appearance of the man that he nearly fell off the bench.

He got a good look at the stranger a second later though. He seemed to be a little older than Josuke, brown hair worn spiked at random angles. He was dressed in a bomber jacket and jeans with gloves, which was an odd look for the beach—not that Josuke could say much about that.

"What do you mean?" Josuke asked, keeping his fake hand pressed close to his chest, self-conscious about letting this man see it any more than he already had.

"You got it in battle, didn't you?" the man asked. Josuke tried to place his accent—British, maybe? "You don't think that's a noble sacrifice?"

"No!" Josuke replied through gritted teeth. "It happened in an explosion before I could even fight back. I tried—I tried to run away."

The man smiled in a strange, knowing way. "Sometimes retreat is the best tactic. It doesn't make you a coward, it just makes you smart. It's not really that bad once you get used to it."

To Josuke's surprise the stranger started peeling off his left glove to reveal a metal prosthetic beneath it. The same hand Josuke had lost.

"You…who are you?" Josuke demanded, getting off the bench.

That was when he saw it: on the back of the man's neck, peeking from his collar, there was the exact same star-shaped birthmark as Josuke had.

"Y-You're—"

But everything was fading away and Josuke was no longer able to form words, feeling like he was being pulled from his body.

"You'll be okay, Josuke," was the last thing he heard the man say, before everything went white, and then that too faded.

Josuke felt the world filter in slowly. He could hear murmuring around him but couldn't make any sense of it. He tried to pry his eyes open, not sure what was going on or where he was.

He heard a soft gasp nearby as he tried to move.

"Josuke?"

Familiar hands found his cheek and he finally managed to open his eyes enough to see the blurry image of his mother standing over him, looking wan and exhausted.

"M…om…" he tried, but his mouth didn't want to work very well either. What was wrong?

"Oh god, Josuke," his mom said with a shaky exhale, stroking unfixed hair off his forehead. She looked like she was trying to keep from crying and Josuke wanted to ask what was wrong when he tried to move and couldn't.

He looked down, realizing for the first time that he was in a hospital gown, various tubes and wires attached to him. A dull ache was focused around his side and thigh and also…

His left hand was wrapped in heavy bandages, but something was wrong, it was too short, it was…

Nausea and despair washed over him as he realized everything he had thought was a nightmare had been a reality.

"M-my hand…" he croaked.

His mother looked stricken as she rubbed his shoulder. "You'll be okay, Josuke, I promise."

He wouldn't though. How the hell was he supposed to be okay? In that moment he simply broke down, unable to process anything for another minute, painful sobs wrung from his throat.

His mom sat on the side of the bed and held him. He buried his face in her shoulder, unable to feel embarrassed right now. Everything was wrong and he didn't know what to do.

A couple days later when he could stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, Koichi and Okuyasu came to sit with him and explained what had happened during the fight and how Kira's fate had apparently decided to take him out after all. Josuke tried to feel relieved that the man was gone for good, that everyone had survived the final battle, but he really couldn't feel much of anything anymore. Maybe it was the pain medicine numbing his emotions as well, but he found, for the most part, that he just felt nothing.

As an awkward silence fell between them, Koichi looked up as the door opened and Jotaro stepped in.

"We'll head out for now so the room doesn't get too crowded," Koichi said.

"Anything we can bring you?" Okuyasu asked, looking helpless.

Josuke simply shook his head. He simultaneously wanted to be alone, and didn't want them to go.

"How are you doing?" Jotaro asked as he held the door open for Koichi and Okuyasu to leave.

Josuke shrugged. Looking down at his lap, unable to avoid looking at the heavily bandaged stump resting there.

Jotaro took one of the seats by the bed, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. "I'm working on something for your hand. I know some people who—"

"Do I look like I give a shit?" Josuke snapped suddenly, tired of everyone's pity. "What does it matter anyway? It's not gonna be right. What if I can't use my Stand properly anymore, huh? If Crazy Diamond can't heal anyone else now too, he's worthless—I'm worthless."

His chest hitched with emotion, and agony shot through his wounded side, stealing his breath away. He tried to get it back but he was shaking with adrenaline and helpless fury and felt himself starting to panic.

"Hey, just breathe."

He felt a hand settle on his shoulder and wanted to shrug it off, but Jotaro held firm, a solid presence for Josuke to focus on as he took a shaky breath, then another, feeling a little less light-headed after a couple seconds.

"I know it's not ready," Jotaro said, hand still on his shoulder. "But right now all you need to focus on is getting through one day at a time. It's a lot easier thinking about it like that."

Josuke was still shaking, his good hand—only hand—clenching in the blankets. He didn't want to admit that Jotaro was giving good advice but he didn't really have much choice but to listen right now. What else could he do?

"Is there anything I can get for you? Your mom will be here in half an hour or so."

Josuke shook his head, part of him wishing people would stop babying him, but he was pretty helpless right now so he didn't really have the right to protest.

Jotaro squeezed his shoulder and gently ruffled his hair before he left the room.

Josuke tried to settle down and get some rest, but everything hurt and he just felt terrible so he ended up crying to himself instead.

Josuke didn't care that the doctors were hopeful for him to recover without long-term complications. He couldn't help but think they were just trying to make him feel better. And it sure as hell wasn't working. It was almost like they were dismissing the fact that he had lost an entire hand. How was that not supposed to change his life?

He was trying to work up the energy and appetite to eat lunch when there was a knock on the door.

He looked up and saw Jotaro peeking in. "Hey, I brought you a visitor. Is it an okay time?"

Josuke shrugged noncommittedly. He didn't really care. It wasn't like any time was ever good anymore.

That was when he saw who the visitor was.

Joseph Joestar walked into the room behind Jotaro, cane tapping against the floor with every other step. He smiled at Josuke, and nodded to the basket of fruit he held under one arm.

"I brought you a little something," he said.

Josuke didn't reply as Jotaro took the basket and set it on the table beside Josuke's bed as Joseph took a seat in one of the chairs. Joseph was honestly one of the last people Josuke wanted to see. While he honestly wasn't sure whether he believed all the stories he'd heard about his father, it was embarrassing to be lying here in a hospital bed, unable to walk, short one hand, having lost a fight against a normal Stand user when Joseph had apparently fought off vampires and Aztec gods—and yeah, that sounded ridiculous even in his head.

"How are you feeling?" Joseph asked.

"Not great," Josuke muttered, shifting uncomfortably, wondering how long this visit was going to last. He tried to turn back to his food, pretending he was busy eating, but it was hard to cut into the meat without two hands and he ended up dumping some of it off the plate. Flaming with embarrassment, he quickly tried to pick it up again. He wanted to simply hide under the bed.

"Here, let me," Joseph said, scooting closer as Josuke continued to struggle.

"No it's—" Josuke began then stopped. "'M not hungry anyway."

"Well, you need to keep up your strength," Joseph reminded him. "And, Josuke, it doesn't make you weak to ask for help. You're still recovering."

Josuke screwed up his face as Joseph took the fork and knife from him and cut up the food into easier bites, a small smile on his face. "You know, when I was recovering from my injuries Suzie did the same for me. Actually insisted on feeding me most of the time."

Josuke flushed harder, really hoping the man wasn't going to try to spoonfeed him. He was about sixteen years too late for that.

But the fork was handed back to Josuke and he found it was easier to eat after Joseph had cut it for him.

"Thanks," he muttered. "But it's not like I can have someone do that for me forever. It's embarrassing."

Jotaro gave Joseph a look and the old man sat back in the chair, slowly starting to take off the gloves he always wore. "You won't have to. It will take some getting used to, sure—there's always a bit of a learning curve, but I think you'll do just fine." One glove was removed and he started on the left one.

Josuke couldn't help bristling slightly. "What would you know?" he said before he could stop himself.

Joseph pulled the second glove off and Josuke stilled, eyes widening as he saw what had been hiding underneath of it.

Joseph smiled and moved the fingers with a light, metallic ratcheting sound. "This has served me well over the years. It wasn't easy at the beginning. But then, technology has come a long way since I got this one."

"Y-you…" Josuke couldn't even articulate words at the moment.

Joseph chuckled. "I know. Funny, isn't it, that it's the same hand, too? Like father like son."

Josuke didn't even know what to say. He couldn't stop staring at Joseph's metal hand.

But the helplessness he'd been feeling welled up once again amongst the flood of emotions and Josuke gritted his teeth. "So what? I'm not like you. I didn't defeat gods and travel across the world to kill vampires. I get caught in an explosion and can't even defend the town I grew up in and love! Maybe I won't be able to do anything anymore. All I did when Kira came after me was run away. I'm just a shitty coward!"

His voice broke at the end and he snapped his mouth shut, embarrassed that he had allowed himself that outburst.

To his surprise, Joseph reached out to settle his prosthetic hand against Josuke's arm. "Josuke, let me assure you that you are no coward. You couldn't avoid being injured in the explosion but you did everything you could to take down Kira then and after. Hayato told us what happened. There's no doubt in my mind that you distracting Kira is what kept him there long enough for Jotaro and the others to get there in time."

"So I was just bait. Yeah, that's definitely a more glorified position," Josuke spat but a little of his fire was gone now and he was mostly just feeling tired.

"Did you know, Josuke, that the secret Joestar technique is running away?" Joseph said with a slight twinkle in his eye. "I've employed it many times."

Josuke looked at him incredulously.

"Running away doesn't always mean you're a coward," Jotaro added, folding his arms over his chest. "A lot of times it's more of a calculated risk."

Josuke wasn't sure if that made him feel better or not but he was exhausted and it felt like his pain medication was wearing off.

Joseph seemed to realize this because he stood with a grunt and patted Josuke on the shoulder. "We'll talk more later, Josuke. In the meantime, get as much rest as you can. It really does help in the recovery process."

Josuke watched them leave and stared down at the bandaged limb lying uselessly in his lap. Could he really recover fully if he had a metal hand like Joseph's? He didn't feel overly confident, but he didn't feel as much in despair as he had before either so maybe that was a start.

A couple days and several more visits later, and Josuke was greeted by Jotaro and Joseph again.

He was a little more receptive this time. Any visitors were a welcome distraction. He was getting horribly bored and stir crazy sitting around in a hospital room for days on end.

"How are you doing today, Josuke?" Joseph asked him cordially.

Josuke shrugged. "Better, I guess. I can kind of walk now."

"That's good," Joseph said before he turned to Jotaro who Josuke could see was holding a box. "We brought you something. A little get well present, if you will."

Josuke furrowed his brow, but accepted the box as Jotaro set it in his lap. "Everyone keeps bringing me stuff. The room's gonna be full pretty soon," he said, motioning to the balloons and flowers and baskets of fruit and stacks of Rohan's manga he didn't want to admit to reading all of—It's not like he had anything better to do.

Joseph gave him a little smile. "This one's a little different."

Curious, Josuke lifted the lid on the box with a tab that was conveniently put on the front of it, and looked inside.

His eyes widened with an actual gasp, shocked at what he saw.

Inside the box, nestled in velvet molding, was a metal prosthetic hand that looked exactly like Crazy Diamond's hands.

Josuke was completely at a loss for words as he reached out to touch it, fingers grazing across the smooth metal.

"Well? What do you think?" Joseph asked.

"I—I don't even know what to say," Josuke said.

Jotaro smiled. "We had the Speedwagon Foundation make it and one of their doctors will be here tomorrow to perform the surgery to attach it."

Josuke touched the fingers, bending one curiously.

"Do you like the design?" Joseph asked softly.

"Yeah, it's great," Josuke said sincerely. "It's—it's perfect, actually." He felt the corners of his mouth tugging upward and finally realized he was grinning for the first time since he'd woken up in the hospital.

Maybe he didn't have to feel so bad about the future after all.

A few weeks later and Josuke was just about back to full health, though not without scars. He'd decided he was okay with them, though. After all, like Joseph and Jotaro had said, he'd earned them and there was something to be said for that.

Joseph had helped him a lot getting used to the prosthetic and Josuke genuinely felt closer to the old man afterward, understanding Joseph in a way he hadn't really before. Maybe it was because he saw something of the young adventurer in him, or maybe it was just that they'd finally had the time to get to know each other better.

To his relief, he could still use Crazy Diamond's abilities despite the loss of one hand. He supposed since Stands were incorporeal that kind of thing might not affect them.

Josuke didn't want to admit to how sad he would be when Joseph left. But he also knew that Joseph needed to get back home to his family, especially now with the new addition of the invisible baby.

The three of them, Josuke, Jotaro, and Joseph, ended up going to walk and visit on the beach the day before Joseph and Jotaro were supposed to leave on the ferry.

"If you ever have any issues with the prosthetic or it gets damaged, you can call Speedwagon and they'll send someone out to fix it," Jotaro assured him.

"Actually, I discovered a neat trick," Josuke said with a grin and wrenched one of the finger joints off. He then called out Crazy Diamond and had his Stand put it back together.

"See?" Josuke said. "Since it's not actually part of me, Crazy D can fix it."

Jotaro snorted, but Joseph laughed, clapping Josuke on the back. "Definitely a useful trick, Josuke."

The three of them sat down on a bench as Josuke's bad leg was starting to wear out. He was slowly getting back to strength but doing anything for a long period of time was still wearing.

Josuke closed his eyes against the sea breeze, running his fingers over the metallic ones on his left hand.

"Thank you, by the way. In case I didn't say it before," he said suddenly, turning to look at Joseph and Jotaro. "I know I probably came across as an asshole back there in the hospital but I really appreciated what you said to me when I thought about it."

Jotaro smiled knowingly. "You don't have to apologize. It's not an easy position to be put into."

"Besides, Josuke, at the end of the day, Kira is dead and unable to hurt anyone else," Joseph said.

"Exactly," Josuke said.

Joseph smiled at him. "You know I'm proud of you, don't you, Josuke?"

Josuke was slightly surprised to hear it. Sure, he'd been part of Kira's takedown, but for anyone to actually be proud of him…

For his dad to be proud of him…

"We're both proud," Jotaro added. "And you should be too. You did good, kid."

Josuke didn't know what came over him, but he suddenly found himself leaning over to embrace Joseph tightly. The old man chuckled in surprise but hugged him back, his metal hand rubbing up and down Josuke's back.

"You did good, son," he murmured, echoing Jotaro's words. "Never forget that."

Josuke felt his throat tighten and he was forced to pull away and clear his throat before he became a blubbering mess. "I think we should probably get back. My mom will start to worry if I'm out too long."

He started to push himself up, leg smarting slightly, when he saw a hand in front of him and took it with only a slight pause.

"Maybe we should get you a cane too," Joseph said teasingly.

Josuke snorted. "I'm not that crippled yet, old man." Then he smiled and looked down at his hand. "I don't mind matching with these though."

He knocked knuckles with Joseph's prosthetic.

"I'm a little jealous, you know," his father said. "Yours is a lot cooler than mine."

Josuke laughed and looked down at his hand and suddenly a vague memory struck him of seeing his prosthetic hand at another point on the beach, while an unknown British man showed him his own metallic hand, a star-shaped birthmark on the back of his neck.

A strange shiver went down Josuke's spine as he tried to get a better hold of the memory but he shook his head as it once again slipped away. Either way, he felt light, and like the whole world was in front of him.