~Diamond is Unbreakable: Begin~
Returning to Japan, after spending such a long time in Wales watching his two sons – the younger who was named Ichigo, and had been born just a couple months after Jotaro's own daughter, Jolyne – grow into the kind of young men that he could be proud of; the kind that he'd wanted to be, insomuch as Tenmei and Ichigo had grown up surrounded by friends, Noriaki had found himself with an odd sense of homesickness. True, he'd settled in among the members of the Joestar family, but living in Wales with Loreena-chan had made that place feel more than a bit like home, too.
And so, having made his way back to Japan again, this time with Tenmei and Ichigo in tow, Noriaki smiled.
"So, we're looking for a family by the name of Higashikata, right?" he asked, as Jotaro climbed out of the car that had brought the both of them to this quaint little town by the sea.
"Right," Jotaro said, nodding, and Noriaki found himself grinning as he recalled the circumstances that had brought all of them to this place in particular.
"How badly do you think your grandma is going to mangle your grandpa for this?" he chuckled. "Or, do you think she's already started?"
"Yare, yare daze; I can still hear him yelling, back from when we found out about this new kid," Jotaro growled, sounding both annoyed and slightly amused at once.
"Yeah," he said, laughing softly. "He was all 'Oh My God! How am I going to make up for sixteen years of missed birthdays?!'"
"Yare, yare daze," Jotaro grumbled, shaking his head as he made his way back over to the car. "Come on, kids. We're there."
"Oh, so this is Japan," Tenmei said, looking around at the place where they'd all arrived.
"It looks neat!" Ichigo exclaimed, hopping out of the car, followed in a laconic sort of way by Jolyne.
"It's not that great," Jolyne drawled, slapping Ichigo's back as she made her way over to stand beside him. "You're such a doofus."
"Wow, look at that fountain!" Tenmei exclaimed, smiling brightly as he caught sight of the front of the school; the first place they were going to be searching for Joseph Joestar's son.
The one he'd had while he was married; the one Grandma Suzie was going to throttle him for, if she hadn't started already.
"Aw, what a cute turtle!" Ichigo exclaimed, racing out ahead of Tenmei, drawing a chuckle from both his older brother and Noriaki himself as he did so.
=DiU=
The sound of running footfalls came as a really welcome distraction, but at the same time Josuke also found himself wishing that he hadn't heard them at all. If he was ever gonna get over his fear of turtles, he was gonna have to get close to one. He was gonna have to get close to this one.
"Oi," he started to say, then found himself speechless as he saw the little kid coming over to him. "Uh, hi?"
"Hi, niisan!" the little guy exclaimed, smiling happily up at him. "Is this cute little turtle yours?"
Before he could say anything, since he didn't want to give the kid the wrong idea about him and any creepy turtles, the sight of four of his upperclassmen distracted him again.
"Oi," the blond, the one who seemed to be the leader, said, looking down at the both of them.
"Oh, wow, your hair is the same color as my big brother's!" the little kid exclaimed, pointing up at one of the four of them; this one had a mohawk, one that seemed to be dyed.
Josuke wondered what that said about his older brother.
"Oh, is that your big brother?" the leader asked, pointing to where another kid was sitting on the edge of the concrete pond.
This one looked a bit older, but he was still clearly a little kid; his hair did look like it was the same color as the guy with the mohawk, but his was a lot longer, hanging down his back in a long tail, and a pair of thin, silver hair clips held back the fringe of hair that was a bit too short to be drawn back into the rest of his ponytail, but still clearly long enough to fall into his face if it wasn't held back. Josuke thought it was kind of cute, actually.
=DiU=
Narrowing his eyes as he saw the group of delinquents – actual delinquents, not people who just didn't give a damn about how annoying people thought of them, and just tried to live their lives the way they wanted to – staring down at Kakyoin's little kids, Jotaro stalked over to the four of them.
"What the hell do you bastards think you're doing?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes as he came up to stand over the four idiots who were clearly about to start doing stupid shit to Kakyoin's kids.
The four idiots looked back at him; Jotaro glared, and the entire group took off without another word or a look back. Glad not to have to deal with yet another bunch of annoying idiots, Jotaro made his way over to the fountain.
"Hey," he called, looking down at the three kids – Kakyoin's two kids, and the older kid sitting on the fountain looking over at them; the one who was just starting to look up at Jotaro as he and Kakyoin made their way over to where he was standing – all gathered together at the fountain.
"Uncle Jotaro!" Ichigo exclaimed, bouncing up to run over to hug his legs.
"Hey, kid," he said, reaching down to ruffle the little guy's bright, soft red hair. "So, anything interesting going on?"
"We found a really cute turtle!" Ichigo exclaimed, tugging on his right hand to try and lead him over to the fountain.
He could already see the little turtle that Ichigo seemed to be talking about, as well as the fact that Tenmei had gone into his own world while he was working again; it was kind of funny, since that was the same kind of thing that Loreena did when she was working on one of her paintings.
"Good afternoon," the last and oldest of the three kids who'd all been sitting around the fountain said, standing up so he could bow respectfully to him and Kakyoin. "My name is Josuke Higashikata."
"Higashikata?" he echoed, finding himself forced to look at the older kid – Josuke; his uncle, as weird as that kind of shit was to think about – in a new light.
"Well, looks like we found who you were looking for, Jotaro," Kakyoin said, making his way over to where he, Josuke, and his two kids were all gathered together.
"Wait, what do you mean, you were looking for me?" Josuke asked, a look of surprise overtaking his face as he stared the pair of them down. "Who am I to you?"
Jotaro sighed, wanting more than anything to go back home and strangle the Old Man, just a bit. "You're my grandfather's son. His name is Joseph Joestar, and he met your mom back in his sixties, but he was already married when he did."
"Oh," Josuke said, sounding like he didn't quite know what to do with the information he'd just been given; still, he bowed deeply again, and Jotaro found himself wondering what he was going to say next. "I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble for the Joestar family, sir. Please, if I'm really causing so much trouble for the Joestar family, you don't have to do anything for me. I don't want to be any trouble."
"You're not going to get in any trouble, Cousin Josuke," Jolyne said, laughing. "Gramps, your dad, just wants you to be a part of the family, even if you don't want to come move to New York with him," Jolyne grinned up at him. "But, Gramps was kind of freaking out about how many birthday presents he owes you, now that he knows you exist."
Josuke laughed, too, but he sounded a lot more uncomfortable about what was going on than Jolyne clearly was. "Tell him he doesn't have to worry about that kind of thing, either."
=DiU=
If there was one thing he hadn't been expecting to happen today, it was meeting up with what seemed to be a couple members of his estranged family before he'd even gotten to properly start his day. Still, they at least seemed like good people, so he'd give them at least some chance; he'd at least get to know them, before he made up his mind about everything.
After they'd all introduced themselves – Noriaki Kakyoin-san and his two kids, Tenmei and Ichigo; and then Jotaro Kujo and his little girl Jolyne, then him Josuke Higashikata – Josuke found himself with a pair of little sidekicks following him, even as Tenmei-chan kept trying to sketch everything he could keep his eyes on for more than a second. Really, it was starting to seem like he'd be a lot happier when they all made it to his house and he could actually sit down while he was working.
When he'd finally did make it back to his house, Josuke was quick to invite the five of them inside, after informing his mom about just who all of the strange people he'd met actually were, and then he found himself sitting down for lunch with Mom, the Kujo small family, and the Kakyoin family. At least, most of those two families; two-thirds, in Jotaro-san's case.
"So, how is Joseph-san doing?" Mom asked, returning her attention to Jotaro-san where he was sitting.
It'd been a bit embarrassing, the way she'd reacted when she'd first seen Jotaro-san, but he and Kakyoin-san had reacted well and all of them had eventually managed to get along with each other so they could talk.
"The old man's all right," Jotaro-san said, almost seeming like he was trying as hard as he could not to say something else; getting in to how annoying he clearly thought his old man was wasn't the point of this conversation, so he probably wasn't going to bring that kind of stuff up. "He's been kind of worked up about how many of Josuke's birthdays he's missed, but other than Granny Suzie kind of wanting to strangle him, he's doing all right."
=DiU=
Settling back into his chair as Kakyoin's kids – mostly Ichigo, though, since Tenmei seemed more interested in going back to his sketching now that they'd all gotten settled down – started getting in on the whole conversation, trying to get to know the new member of their family. Jotaro found himself thinking about what he and Kakyoin had been sent here for; they hadn't just come to see how the Old Man's family was doing, both of them were doing freelance work for the Speedwagon Foundation, and had been sent to this cozy little town to see what the result of so many Stand users gathered together in the same place ultimately was.
Of course, Kakyoin was actually working for the Foundation itself, while Jotaro himself did freelance work, keeping up with his marine biology studies and the job he was aiming to get at the aquarium.
=DiU=
Looking out his window, as he caught sight of the purple-eyed form of White Rabbit hopping onto the windowsill outside of his room, Keicho Nijimura opened his window to let the Stand in. He'd made contact with Jack Harper, and now meeting up with the man's Stand was the next step in his initiation; his next step to becoming a member of Blackwatch. Settling back into his chair, as White Rabbit hopped down onto his desk, Keicho took out a pen and paper so that he and Jack Harper would be able to exchange messages.
All right, so this marks the beginning of our association; however, I would appreciate knowing just why it is that you want to join up with Blackwatch. Normally, Blackwatch agents are vetted from within the company itself.When White Rabbit finished writing, Keicho took the pen, the paper, and narrowed his eyes slightly as he thought about how he was going to respond.
When I was young, there was a killer loose in Morioh; none of the police could find him, since it seemed he had some kind of supernatural power. It was most likely a Stand, given everything I've learned about how Stands work, since I managed to get my hands on that bow and arrow, he explained, narrowing his eyes as he found himself thinking back to when he was a child; back when that killer had been stalking Morioh's streets. He'd been an arrogant man, Keicho had seen that even as a child, so the sight of that sniper's shot taking off most of his head had drawn him to follow up on whoever it was that had been responsible for executing the killer.
Even as a child, he had been adept at calculating trajectories, and fortunately for him he'd been close enough to the body to determine just where it was that the shot had come from.
Ah, you were living here during the hunt for Angelo, White Rabbit wrote, a frown on its lapine face; Keicho found himself wondering if the expression was something of a match for the one that Jack Harper was wearing.
Tapping the desk next to where White Rabbit was working, he took the paper back. That's one of the other reasons I want to join up with Blackwatch: the more I get to know you, the more obvious it becomes that you're just the kind of person I'd want to work with.
Oh?White Rabbit wrote, tilting its head slightly, catlike purple eyes focusing on him; he could almost feel Jack Harper's regard, as the man studied him through the Stand that he sent out to vet those who wished to join Blackwatch from outside Brando International.
Yes. I can see how much we have in common from the way you act; you're careful, deliberate, meticulous, considerate, and clearly intelligent. I respect that, he wrote, settling back into his chair again.
So that's why you want to work for Blackwatch, White Rabbit wrote, then rubbed its chin with its right paw.
The sound of someone trying to open his door drew both of their attention, and White Rabbit was quick to hop out of the window that Keicho had left open for the meeting that he and White Rabbit had been holding for the last few nights. Turning, even as he folded up the paper that he and Jack Harper had been using as yet another intermediary for their efforts at communication, Keicho found that it was indeed his little brother, Okuyasu.
"Bro, has there been any response from that Harper guy you were talking about joining up with?"
The fact that their father always worked late was the only thing that kept Keicho from belting his idiot little brother across the face; the absolute last thing he needed was their father finding out about his plans. Both because he didn't need the old man meddling in his business, and because he honestly doubted that Mr. Harper would appreciate having an uninvolved civilian set on Blackwatch's trail. Really, Keicho suspected that the only reason the man had been so lenient with him was because he'd expressed a desire to join up with the organization. Of course, the fact that he was likely to have to bring Okuyasu in, at least in on the secret if not into Blackwatch itself, was rather troublesome.
That was why he'd continued his experiments with the bow and arrow: he needed a Stand user who would be able to keep Okuyasu out of trouble, since anyone could see that his idiot little brother was no good at that kind of thing, himself.
"I've been speaking to him, yes," he said, turning to Okuyasu as his idiot little brother made his way into Keicho's to stand beside him at his desk.
"So, how's it been working?" Okuyasu asked.
"We've established contact," he said, dismissing his idiot little brother as he turned his attention back to the Stand users that he had created.
Not a single one of them were remotely suited to looking after Okuyasu.
=DiU=
Packing up all of the drawings he'd made, actual drawings rather than just the sketches he'd been working on while he'd been staying alongside his father, his little brother, and their family friends the Joestars, Tenmei paused for a long moment as he felt himself practically vibrating with excitement. He hadn't quite appreciated it, back when Dad had been inviting him and Ichigo to come along with him, but Morioh was where the Rohan Kishibe both lived and worked.
Tenmei had always wanted to meet the man, but more than that he wanted to work for him; it was the one thing that he and Mom didn't quite see eye to eye on.
Not that they'd ever really had any disagreements on the subject, it was just that different things made them happy when it came to the subject of their art. Mom liked to paint, and her works could take up incredibly large canvases when she was particularly inspired. Most of her work also seemed to be based on a fantastical version of the world, one which seemed to combine elements of both Celtic and Japanese folklore. Tenmei, on the other hand, felt like the world as a whole was amazing enough not to need any of that kind of embellishment.
He also wanted to have more people getting the chance to see his artwork than just the ones who'd come to the galleries that Mom sold her paintings to.
Getting the chance to work for Rohan Kishibe would let a lot more people see his artwork, and if he could show the man how good he was at making background art, Tenmei was sure that he would have his chance. Once he'd finished with his packing, carefully buckling shut the holder for his drawings that he'd bought for himself with the allowance Dad gave him, Tenmei took a deep breath to fortify himself, and then continued on his way out of Cousin Josuke's house.
Auntie Tomoko had been quick to offer to let them all stay in the guest room after she'd seen how much Uncle Ryohei enjoyed playing with Ichigo and Cousin Jolyne; though he seemed to like Ichigo just that little bit more, since living for so long with Uncle Jotaro had definitely left its mark on Cousin Jolyne. Smiling softly as he caught sight of Uncle Ryohei putting his hat on Ichigo's head, Tenmei chuckled as he saw the hat – which was perfectly sized to fit on Uncle Ryohei's head, of course – falling down over Ichigo's eyes.
"Ah, good morning, Tenmei-chan!" Uncle Ryohei called, waving to him as Tenmei made his way to the front door. "You have a nice day, now!"
"Good morning, Uncle Ryohei. I will! I'll see you when I get back, you and Ichigo have fun!" he called back, smiling as he made his way out the door.
Just as he'd made it halfway down the path, Cousin Josuke caught up with him.
"Hey, kiddo, where're you headed off to with all that art of yours?" Cousin Josuke asked, an interested look on his face as the pair of them fell into step with one another.
"I found out that Rohan Kishibe lives around here," he said, grinning up at Cousin Josuke. "And well, I was hoping that I could have the chance to talk to him," he said, pausing for a moment as he considered whether or not to tell Cousin Josuke about what he was actually planning; still, he didn't want to jinx it, or anything. "Also, there was something I wanted to ask you."
"What would that be, kiddo?"
"Well, it's about your hair," he said, stopping so that the pair of them would be able to talk without worrying about walking into anything.
"What about my hair?" Cousin Josuke asked, giving him a sort of gimlet stare.
Tenmei wondered just what that was about for a moment, but he pressed on before he could think too much about it. "It's so artistic. It almost looks like you sculpted it," he said, finding himself a little surprised as Cousin Josuke's expression went back to his usual happy one. "Would you mind if I touched it?"
"I guess that's okay, kiddo," Cousin Josuke said, crouching down so that he'd be able to reach his hair.
"Ah, it is springy," he said, softly poking the sculpted mass of hair that Cousin Josuke seemed to put so much work into. "I thought it would be, but this is really neat."
Cousin Josuke chuckled warmly. "All right, that's enough poking, kiddo."
"Right, sorry," he said, smiling as the both of them started walking again.
Both of them parted ways for the morning, and Tenmei took a moment to gather himself again, before he pressed on to Rohan Kishibe's house. Once he'd made it there, Tenmei paused to collect himself again. He found himself almost vibrating with excitement again, and once he'd managed to stop himself he knocked on the door.
=DiU=
The sound of someone knocking on his door, someone who should not have even been anywhere near his home when he was working, disturbed Rohan while he was working. Finding his way back to his front room, Rohan hoped that whoever had come to his home would at least have something that he could use for his manga, even if it was just the kind of small observation about the world. Opening the door, Rohan looked around and found the space empted; he found himself more than a little annoyed, before a young voice called his attention to the little boy standing on his doorstep.
"Good morning, Rohan-sensei," the little boy – who had long, smooth, simply-styled red hair, held out of his eyes with a pair of shiny silver hairclips – said, smiling up at him.
"How did you find my address?" he asked, wondering at how a little boy had ended up on his doorstep.
"I looked you up in the phone book," the little boy said, holding what looked like some kind of portfolio against his thin, narrow chest. "And, well, then I called the operator."
"I'll have to speak to them about that," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "Well, I suppose you can come inside."
"Thank you so much!" the little boy said happily, following him inside, still holding that portfolio of his close to his chest.
Studying the child as the pair of them continued on their way deeper into his home, up to the studio where he spent so much time working, Rohan continued on his way over to the desk where he'd left the manuscript he'd just finished working on. The question of whether or not the boy would be compatible with the manuscript was still open, but considering how close the both of them were to his work space, Rohan knew that it wouldn't be that way for long.
"Why don't you sit down?" he suggested, gesturing to a nearby chair.
"All right, but I was-"
"Just settle down, I want to show you something," he said, moving to take the little boy's portfolio so that he could set it aside. "Here, take a look at this," he said, once he'd fetched the manuscript that he'd just completed.
"Wow, you are really good at composition," the little boy said, then made a sound of surprise as Heaven's Door went to work on him.
Leaning over the little boy, Rohan took a moment to write down instructions for the him to sit still while he was reading.