A Promise Between Worlds

Intermission Arc

Chapter 25: Jojo, Jojos, Jojo and Tanjiro

Preliminary Week

Tanjiro sniffed the air as he stood on top of a tall boulder. His face troubled. "It's no use. After last night, the air was mixed together by all those monsters and competitors fighting. I can't track your family's scent anymore..."

"I see..." Below, Jonathan expressed a hint of grievances at the news. He puts up a gentle smile as Tanjiro hopped down.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't quick enough-" Tanjiro began, only for him to stop when Jonathan placed his hand on top of Tanjiro's forehead.

"It's alright, young lad," Jonathan said caringly, patting Tanjiro's head. "While it is unfortunate we could not get to the others in time, your nose did lead us away from all the dangers in the forest."

It was an incredible display of abilities unleashed from the other competitors. The likes of which Jonathan could never imagine in his wildest dreams.

"You've kept us safe by guiding us through all that chaos, and you did help us find Old Joseph and Josuke. You have my thanks for that," Jonathan said, encouraging Tanjiro to stand tall and proud.

Jonathan then looked up to the blue morning sky, "While I may not know for certain, I have a strong feeling in my heart that the others are alright. I have faith that we'll see them again, if not today."

He then turned back to his other family members, who were gathered in a circle discussing what appeared to be private affairs. Young Joseph looked to be in disbelief, and Old Joseph looked incredibly embarrassed. Josuke had his hands held up as he tried to calm down Young Joseph, even using himself as a barricade between the two Josephs.

"Let's go and tell the others," Jonathan informed Tanjiro. Tanjiro nodded, adjusting the box on his back and walked alongside Jonathan as they regrouped with the two Josephs and Josuke.

"-I don't like being hit, but I wouldn't actually blame you if you punched my 'actual' idiot self, at least once!" Young Joseph said to Josuke.

"I mean, I don't disagree with you. He's also a stand user so I'm sure he could take it." Josuke answered. "Still, he is my dad."

"I still don't understand what a stand is! Is it the thing that holds up a telescope?! A painting?! I'm pretty sure that's called a canvas!"

Jonathan called to the other at immediate attention. "Is everything alright?"

"Ah-! Well-! Uh..." Old Joseph was at a loss for words. Jonathan regarded the other members.

"I know a lot has happened last night, but I believe there was something I heard," Jonathan looked to Josuke. "Josuke, did you actually call Old Joseph your father?"

"Uh, well... yeah..." Josuke said, rubbing the back of his neck. He stiffened nervously when the hulking figure of Jonathan drew closer to him.

"I see..."

Without warning, Jonathan wrapped his buff arms around Josuke's already tall figure and gave him a hug. "Then that makes you my great grandson! How wonderful!"

"O-oh! Um... Thanks..." Josuke said as he hugged back. Embarrassed but also strangely happy. He never thought he would have someone else he'd call grandpa, especially someone who was as young and buff as Jonathan. "Ha... You're a pretty cool dude, Mr. Jonathan. I kind of wish you and my grandpa met. I think the two of you would have gotten along really well."

"Really? I'm honored to hear that, and please, no formalities. You're part of the family," Jonathan said as he pulled back from his hug, looking at his great grandson appreciatively. "Feel free to call me Jojo, or even gramps as my other grandsons like to call me."

"Ah... sure thing... Great Gramps," Josuke complied with an embarrassed smile, a warm feeling in his chest. It was hard to deny the request of someone as nice as Jonathan.

"I'm a little surprised though," Jonathan said. "I heard from Old Joseph about him having a daughter, but never mentioned a son. Why did you not say anything yesterday?"

He asked this question to the Old man in the area. Old Joseph stiffened and his gloved hand clasped behind his head. "Erm. Well, it's kind of complicated. I really did want to tell all of you... I just wasn't sure how I could explain it."

Especially considering the circumstances that led to Josuke being conceived in the first place. After getting a good grasp of Jonathan's personality, Old Joseph knew he was going to hear it from his grandfather much more strongly than Young Joseph, and the younger self had already been revving a punch for Old Joseph before Josuke stopped him in his tracks.

"Let's not worry about that right now," Josuke suddenly said, surprising his father and future father of the save. "So what's our next move? There's got to be a way to find Jotaro and the others, right?"

"Hmmm…" Old Joseph thought to himself, grabbing his bearded chin. "It'd be great if there was some way we could communicate with them, and it'd be even better if we had a camera. But I doubt we'll find anything like that in this forest."

There was a small shadow that passed over them. Tanjiro looked up and spotted a blue bird flying over. Huh? That bird…

There was something strange about that bird. At its underbelly, there was a noticeable mark. No, a letter. It looked to be the letter "J" inside of a purple star.

Tanjiro watched as the bird suddenly flew lower, and it landed on the shoulder of Jonathan. The presence of the bird put an end to the Jojo's discussion in light of the suddenly appeared animal.

"Oh! Hello there," Jonathan greeted the small, feathered creature on his shoulder. Holding out his finger for the bird to hop on, and the bird did so. "It's nice to see that some of the animals in this place survived last night's events."

Tanjiro quickly approached to Jonathan closely. "That bird… It's scent…!"

Tanjiro gained the men's attention as the demon slayer added, "It's scent is a lot like yours, Jojo!"

"Huh?" All four Jojos looked amongst each other.

Oh. They're all nicknamed Jojo, Tanjiro was quick to clarify, "I-I mean Jonathan. Well, it's also similar to everyone else, but it's stronger with Jonathan! I'm sure of it!"

"This bird…?" Jonathan raised the bird closer to his face for inspection.

"Huh? What are you talking about kid?" Old Joseph said incredulous. "I can assure you, there's no bird in our family history."

"I for one wouldn't want to see a bird anytime soon," Young Joseph said with a slight shiver. Old Joseph nodded in total understanding.

"-?! Everyone! Look!" Jonathan suddenly called to them. "This bird's belly-!"

The other Jojos gathered to look. "-! That star…!"

Josuke lifted his black coat to look at his shoulder, "It's just like my birthmark. Our birthmark!"

Tanjiro looked over to Josuke, and though Tanjiro had to stand on his toes a bit to see due to Josuke's height, he was able to spot the star-shaped birthmark on Josuke's shoulder. "All of you have that?"

"We do," Old Joseph answered, pulling up the collar of his shirt and lowering himself somewhat to show his bare shoulder, and the star birthmark it carried as well. "It's a symbol of our family's bloodline. The Joestar bloodline."

A symbol of their bloodline… Tanjiro raised his hand and touched the flaming mark on his forehead. I wonder if that's the same for me…

"So if this bird has it…!" Jonathan began to piece it together – the meaning of this bird's existence. "Then one of the others must have sent it! Giorno-!"

"Yeah. It definitely looks like that kid's work," Old Joseph said. "I don't know whether to be amazed or creeped out. The fact that his ability not only lets him grow trees, but his stand can create life out of anything. He probably made this bird himself."

"R-Really?!" Tanjiro uttered out, completely and utterly amazed. "He could create life?! Incredible!"

"Indeed. And certainly not creepy," Jonathan said, lightly admonishing Old Joseph's critique that made the man flinch and bow his head apologetically. "It's a little like our Hamon, only I don't think even Hamon could do something like this. At least, not mine-"

It was then that the suddenly started to cough something out. Jonathan immediately grew worried for the small creature and tried to help it. The men were surprised, however, when the bird coughed out a purple beetle, landing in Jonathan's hand.

"Ew! It just threw up a bug!" Josuke said. He shrieked when he felt Young Joseph's fingers tickle his ears and jumped away, thinking it was a bug. Joseph's smiled mischievously until he got his ear pulled by Old Joseph, putting an end to his younger self's nonsense.

"Well, at least it's better now-" Jonathan's statement was cut short when the beetle suddenly changed shape. "What-?"

The beetle transformed into a sheet of paper, and Jonathan quickly grabbed hold of it. Everyone was taken aback by the shifting as Jonathan held the paper up close.

"A… A letter?" Jonathan gasped. "It's from Giorno!"

Hearing that, everyone came close as Jonathan read the letter out loud.

"To any Jojo who finds this letter,

I, Giorno Giovanna, am travelling alongside Jotaro Kujo and Jolyne Cujoh. We were able to escape the monsters and are making our way through the forest as I write.

We've agreed to stay in the area until we found all of you. However,

The forest is still very dangerous. I would urge you to keep moving. We will do the same.

If you find this letter, please respond, and allow my bird to carry it back to us.

Let us know you are safe."

"You were right, gramps. That kid really did send it," Old Joseph said, crossing his arms. "And seeing how his bird managed to come all this way, it's proof that him and the others are doing just fine."

Jonathan sighed a big relief. "That's good."

"What should we write back?" Josuke asked. "Maybe there's a landmark somewhere? We could meet up with those guys there."

"There's too many trees as is. I doubt there's anything that stands out," Old Joseph said as he crossed his arms. "We may have escaped last night's mayhem, but that doesn't mean we're safe."

"Why don't we follow this bird?" Tanjiro suggested. "It'll return to the one who send it, right?"

"That's a good idea," Jonathan commended before frowning. "I would want us to regroup with the others as soon as possible."

"We can't guarantee we'll keep up with the bird. Especially while we need to keep our eyes out for monsters," Old Joseph said. "Believe me, I want nothing more than to find my grandson and great granddaughter again-"

Grandson... Great Granddaughter... I can see that man having grandchildren, Tanjiro looked up to Jonathan. But why do they keep calling Jonathan Gramps? He looks so young, maybe around his twenties. He even called Josuke his great grandson.

"-but I think it's best that we tell those three to keep moving. Get out of this forest in fact. As long as they're here, they'll be in danger just as we are. We definitely can't tell them to stay in one place just to wait for us. I wouldn't feel right letting them do that, after all the monsters we've seen last night..."

Jonathan clenched his fist, finding Old Joseph's point a hard pill to swallow.

"However, it is worth a shot following this bird," Old Joseph added. "But if we lose it, then we'll just have to try our luck finding them outside the forest. We should definitely write to Giorno to keep sending us letters like this, though."

Tanjiro considered for a moment as Jonathan relented to Old Joseph's plan.

"You might be right," Jonathan said. "I would rather they leave this place than risk their lives."

"Um, about the letter," Tanjiro say, turning the Jojos attention back to him. "I don't really know how your family's power works, but if Mr. Giorno could make animals, especially birds, then..."

The four Jojos and Tanjiro ventured through the wilderness. They chased after the flying bird that was rushing to return to its creator, but they were intercepted by not only monsters, but treacherous terrains as well.

"Shit-!" Young Joseph looked up to the sky and was the last to spot the bird before it disappeared beyond the trees. "Hey! Tanjiro! Can you sniff out that bird?!"

Tanjiro swung his sword at a monster wildcat, given support by Young Joseph who swung his clackers over Tanjiro's head. "I'm sorry! There's too much going on here! The messenger bird has already gone too far now!"

"Looks like we'll be running blind then!" Old Joseph shouted at his younger self as he summoned Hermit Purple to swing one wildcat at another. "We've been running all night and haven't stopped since the sun came up. We need to find someplace to hide and rest!"

"DORARARARARARARA!" The tree was smashed apart and then quickly put back together, trapping several wildcats inside. Jonathan was his shield as he sliced away another horde of monsters.

"Everyone! Keep moving!" Jonathan shouted.

They did so, fighting off monsters as they ran.

"-Man! It's places like this that I really miss my hometown, and it's only been one day-!" Josuke suddenly lost his footing and sunk into a pit hidden within the bushes.

"Josuke!" Everyone shouted. The closest to Josuke was Jonathan, but Jonathan was not able to grab Josuke in time before the teen fell into the pit.

"Joseph!" Jonathan called out.

The two Josephs were already rushing for them.

"We'll cover for you!" Tanjiro stated as he went to assist Jonathan. However, the moment he stepped onto the grass, it suddenly gave in. "Ah-!"

"Tanjiro!" Jonathan and the Josephs saw Tanjiro sink into the earth. More monsters made themselves known, separating the Jojos from Tanjiro.

"Shit-!" Old Joseph looked back and forth between the two pits. One of them where his own son fell through, the other their guide and also a kid. He suddenly gets slapped in the shoulder by his younger self.

"I'll get Josuke! You get Tanjiro!"

Hearing Young Joseph take charge, Old Joseph watched as his younger self rushed for Josuke's pit before he could say anything. The old man looked back at where Tanjiro fell and clenched his fist. "Knh-! Fine! You better take care of our boy! Hang in there, gramps!"

"I will! Go rescue them!" Jonathan said as he became the group's one-man wall and army, slashing at any and all approaching monsters.

Old Joseph reached the edge of the pit. "Hey kid! Are you still alive?!"

"Y-yes! But…" At the bottom of the pit, Tanjiro was stuck. The box at his back was slowly sinking into the earth underneath. "I think I'm stuck in quicksand!"

"Hermit Purple!" Old Joseph summoned his stand of purple vines and flung them for Tanjiro. The purple vines were able to reach Tanjiro, wrapping the boy's body. Tanjiro smelled the presence of his stand that was invisible to his eyes. He reached out to feel it but could not catch anything.

"Hold tight! I'll pull you out!"

Tanjiro clutched the side of the box on his back readily as Old Joseph began to pull him up. "Gnh-! It's too heavy! Kid! Let go of that box! You're gonna have to abandon it!"

"No! I can't!" Tanjiro immediately answered.

"I can't pull you out like this! I may not be in my prime but even a dozen men would have trouble getting you out of this!" Old Joseph said as his hand trembled to keep Tanjiro from sinking. "Just let go of your luggage! If your patch is inside, forget about them! You can just get more stars later!"

Tanjiro tightened his grip of the crate behind him. "No. I can't do what you're telling me to do. I'm sorry, but I just can't!"

"You little-!" Old Joseph grew frustrated at Tanjiro's stubbornness. "Is this a Japanese pride thing?! This isn't the time to get sentimental with your-!"

"It's not just things inside-!" Tanjiro suddenly stopped when he caught scent of another presence. He turned his head. In the pit he was at the bottom of, there was a hole in the wall he had just noticed, and through the hole, multiple red eyes were seen.

"Oh no!" Tanjiro immediately adjusted himself, turning around as he gripped onto his wooden box, as a swarm of multiple, small and monstrous looking crabs crawled out.

"-! Crap!" Old Joseph said as he started pulling the vines of his stand even harder. "Kid! Stop messing around! Let it go! Now!"

"I won't!" Tanjiro said as the crabs started to pinch at him. Their sharp claws piercing the flesh in his cheeks and limbs, blood instantly drew.

"I'm serious! You're going to get killed if you don't let go of that luggage!" Old Joseph grew worried. He didn't understand why Tanjiro refused to part away from the wooden crate. "Whatever's inside-! It can't be more important than your own life!"

"You're wrong! This box is that important to me!"

"W-what?"

"I know it's hard to understand! But I'd give my life before I'd let anything happen to this box!" Tanjiro wasn't sure how Old Joseph or the others would react if he told them the truth of what was inside this box, and to explain his situation would take too long. "That's why I can't abandon it! No matter what! And because of that-!"

Tanjiro suddenly forced himself to spin, pulling Hermit Purple along and nearly causing Old Joseph to fall in.

"-you have to save this box!" Tanjiro fell into the quicksand, and as Hermit Purple and many small monster crabs clutched his body, he took a deep breath, and with all his might, he kicked under the box and forced it to come out of the quicksand.

"K-Kid!"

"Grab it! Hurry!"

Old Joseph, pressed by the desperation in Tanjiro's voice, relented Hermit Purple from the boy's body and grabbed the luggage, pulling it up by his side. "Tanjiro!"

"No matter what-!" Tanjiro said as his injured body covered in crabs started to sink deeper into the quicksand. "Guard that box! Don't open it under sunlight! And I promise you-!"

"Tanjiro!" Old Joseph willed Hermit Purple back to existence and threw for Tanjiro once more.

"-that box will protect you!" With those last words, Tanjiro's head sunk into the quicksand as well, as Hermit Purple grasped for the boy's body. Old Joseph yanked his hand back, but only succeeded in pulling out little monster crabs.

"TANJIRO!" Old Joseph didn't understand. But the dedication in that boy's voice, to keep whatever was inside this box safe no matter what, even at the cost of his own life, it was enough to move the old man. "You-! Goddamn kid!"

Without another thought, Old Joseph jumped into the pit. "Hermit Purple!"

His stand manifested and whipped out for the pit's opening, the stand grabbing a nearby tree. Old Joseph stopped himself at just the foot of the quicksand and dove his gloved hand into pool. He took a deep breath, his lungs expanding in a way that it hadn't for years, and he shouted. "Overdrive!"

His hand swarmed with Hamon energy, and the quicksand parted. The little crab monsters were tossed away by the burst of energy, and Old Joseph yanked a fistful of the green-black checker fabric out of the quicksand. Tanjiro was pulled out, an immediate draw of breath that coughed out mud.

"I'll be frank," Old Joseph said as he saw Tanjiro opening his eyes. "I don't know what's so special about that box, so you're just gonna have to get up and keep it safe yourself."

"Joseph! Tanjiro!"

They looked up and saw Jonathan, Young Joseph, and Josuke at the edge of the pit. "Hold on!" Jonathan tried searching for the purple vines that held Old Joseph, but because he and Young Joseph weren't stand users, he could not see Hermit Purple.

"I got it!" Josuke, on the other hand, could. He summoned his Crazy Diamond, and the figure in pink and silver grabbed the vines. "Just hold on to me and we'll pull together."

Within a moment, the three Jojos were able to lift Old Joseph and Tanjiro up and out of the pit. The monster horde they had been dealing with all lay defeated on the ground, thus granting the group this moment of peace.

"Are you two alright?!" Jonathan asked, seeing Tanjiro's injuries. "You're injured!"

"Yeah. There were a bunch of monster crabs below. Nothing that I couldn't handle though," Old Joseph said, placing his gloved hand on top of Tanjiro's box.

*scratch* *scratch*

"-?!" Old Joseph turned his attention to the box, startled. What was... I swear I thought I heard something.

"Here. I got you," Josuke said as Jonathan used Hamon to deal with Tanjiro's wounded arm. At just a clasp of Josuke's hand that grabbed Tanjiro's shoulder, there was a pinkish glow, and Tanjiro's body was instantly healed.

"Whoa! Amazing!" Tanjiro looked back at Josuke. "Thank you! Your power's incredible!"

"Ah. Thanks..." Josuke scratched his cheek, a little sheepish yet proud at the compliment. "It's no big deal."

"Was that also Hamon? Or did you call that a stand?" Tanjiro asked as he stood up along with Jonathon and the rest.

"It's a stand. Ah, but you can't really see it, right? Only Stand Users can see other people's stands. I'm not sure what Hamon is though."

"I'll tell you what it is! It's a whole lot better than 'stands'. Since they can't make you walk on water!" Young Joseph said.

"Huh?! Really?!" Tanjiro was absolutely stunned.

Young Joseph blinked at Tanjiro's reaction and smiled widely. The kind of smile Old Joseph instantly knew had mischief behind it. "You bet! We even use it to fly too!"

"Wait, what?! You serious?!" Josuke looked at Young Joseph in surprised, equally amazed as Tanjiro.

"Oh my god..." Old Joseph muttered.

"Oh yeah! And there's loads of other stuff too!" Young Joseph promised. "We can make swords purely out of sunlight! Blow bubbles that could trap a man in it for days! Even jump to the moon!"

Jonathan hid an amused smile behind his hand as Young Joseph began prattling on and on about Hamon, adding increasing amazement in Tanjiro's and Josuke's faces. Old Joseph soon puts an end to it.

"Alright alright! That's enough. None of that is true. Well, except for the 'walking on water' and 'bubbles' part."

Both Tanjiro and Josuke's impression were quickly deflated. Josuke looked annoyed with Young Joseph as the other Jojo glared at his older self. "You geezer! I can't believe I turn out to be such a buzzkill!"

Old Joseph simply ignored his younger self as he adjusted his hat. "Come on. We should keep moving until we find a place we can rest. I'm sure we're all exhausted by now."

Jonathan calmed his amused heart with a small breath and nodded. "Right. Let's go. We may have lost the bird, but at least we were able to deliver the message. Let's hope we'll hear from Giorno and the others soon."

"Phew! Holy shit! Now that the adrenaline's gone, I'm so goddamn tired," Young Joseph slumped against the ground in a sitting position. "Thank God we found this camp."

The group came across a sort of undercliff hiding spot by a flowing stream with a fallen tree over the entrance. Josuke used his stand ability to restore the tree to its original spot, allowing easier entry into the undercliff. A few dead monster ants were around and simply laid on the ground, and so the group happily took a piece of the monsters. Earning yet another star for their patch.

"Language, Young Joseph," Jonathan said, stepping over the empty fire pit. He lets out a huff of his exhaustion that was shared by the rest of his group. "And yes, it is fortunate we've come across this by the stream. Although, I'm wondering what happened to its original owner?"

Tanjiro sat down by the fire pit, calming his breath after several tries.

"It probably used to belong to a competitor," Old Joseph theorized, taking a seat against the stone wall. "They must have fled during the night. Can't say if they'll come back, but I'm sure they won't mind us borrowing this place for a while. I could practically hear my bones creaking after all that fighting."

Josuke slumped down by the river, practically gasping for air. He looked back at the water and takes a gander at his own reflection. "Oh crap! My hair's coming undone!"

Josuke pulled out a comb from his pants and started fixing his slightly disheveled hair. "All that running really let loose a few strands. Maybe I should have thought twice before entering this competition. Then again, it's not like I was in a good spot before..."

"Same here," Old Joseph stated before pulling out something from his backpack. "I'd better make some refreshments for all of us. We might have to spend the night here. It's a pretty decent hiding spot. One of us will have to keep watch for monsters though."

Hearing that, Tanjiro immediately stood up, "I can do that. I'll keep my nose sharp for anything that might come our way."

Jonathan reached up and grasped Tanjiro's shoulder. "You've worked hard enough as it is. You need your rest, Tanjiro."

After a brief recovery of stamina, controlling his breathing nearly the same way as Tanjiro, Jonathan stood up then, "I'll keep watch for all of us. Why don't you and Young Joseph start the fire, Tanjiro?"

"Oh, yes, of course," Tanjiro accepted the request. Young Joseph merely raised a thumbs up before lying on his back, succumbing to his exhaustion and simply taking this time to just laze about in recovery.

Jonathan huffed at the sight but did not say anything about it. He understood how hard everyone fought and wanted to leave them be to rest. "We'll take shifts. Let me know if we need to hunt for food."

"I think we've got enough rations to last us for a few more days," Old Joseph stated as he stood up. "There's plenty of broken wood around. Why don't you start collecting those for the fire, Tanjiro?"

"Right. I'll do that," Tanjiro said and started to do as he was asked. He didn't notice Old Joseph's gaze lingering towards the wooden box Tanjiro carried at his back.

The group took this chance to recover at the abandoned camp. Jonathan sitting on top of the cliff. Tanjiro collecting wood. Old Joseph and Josuke having a brief conversation by the stream as the old man collected water, and Young Joseph simply napping away.

Old Joseph soon returned as Tanjiro just helped create the first spark in the fire with some rocks together. "Ooh! Not bad, kid. You a survival specialist or something?"

"Ah, no. My family used to sell coal, so there were a lot of things I've learned from that. Most of the wood I found were damp by the river, but these should last for hours as long as we keep feeding the fire with dry wood."

"I see..." There was an air of somber around Old Joseph as he put down the tea kettle in front of the fire pit. "We should start a pile so that we don't have to keep going out for more fuel. Hmm. Maybe some type of camouflage would be good, unless there's a monster who could just sniff us out."

"...Are you sad?" Tanjiro asked curiously.

Old Joseph was surprised at the question. "Huh? Me? Why would I be sad?"

"Well, you just sort of gave off that air," Tanjiro then looked over to Josuke who seemed to still be tending to his hair by the stream. "Did something happen between you and Josuke?"

Old Joseph did not expect the pinpoint accuracy of Tanjiro's question. The old man sat back down by the lit fire pit. "...You could say that."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Tanjiro offered.

"Ah, I'm sure it's not something a kid would want to hear," Old Joseph tried to escape the convo. Reading Old Joseph's discomfort, Tanjiro eased back a little, and carried a somewhat regretful expression.

"I see... I'm sorry about last night," Tanjiro said.

Old Joseph looked back at Tanjiro confused.

"I thought everyone knew about the relationship between you and Josuke. I'm confused though. Why did you keep it a secret?"

"Ah, well..." Old Joseph adjusted his hat, using it to conceal his eyes. "...The truth is, Josuke is my son, but not my wife's son."

"Not your wife's...?" Tanjiro took a moment to comprehend Joseph's explanation. In his pause, Old Joseph elaborated.

"...I was visiting Japan, once upon a time. I was kind of kicking up a storm about how Japan's liquor wasn't as strong as American. Making a big deal about it in one of the bars and just kept drinking until, well, I got drunk..."

Old Joseph removed his hat as he stared into the fire. "Then there was this beautiful woman I came across. I swear I thought it was my wife who suddenly aged back into her twenties. One thing led to another and... well, the next morning I woke up, I found a woman in my bed who actually wasn't my wife."

"Ah!" Tanjiro understood. "You...! You slept with another woman?!"

"Not my proudest moment. As soon as I realized what happened, I panicked. I pretty much screamed "Oh No!" and thought that would have woken her up, but somehow she didn't. And then I left. Gathered my clothes and left without another word. It was a piece of shit move, and I felt guilty ever since but could never find the courage to confess to anyone in my family. I knew they'd hate me if they found out. I'd hate myself too, and still do in fact..."

He looked over to his younger self sleeping by the cliff wall. Young Joseph had his back towards them, but Old Joseph could tell that Young Joseph was awake and listening.

"...But then, just yesterday, I found out that the woman I slept with, Tomoko Higashikata, had a child. My child. For several years I never knew. If I had, I would have immediately taken responsibility. I would have helped them, but..."

Old Joseph's fists clenched against his knees. "...but the fact is that I didn't. If I hadn't been a coward, maybe I could have known. And if I had known..."

Old Joseph rubbed his head. "Well, I doubt Josuke would have liked me any better if I did stick around. I'd hear it from my family too, from my wife and daughter whom I betrayed, and I would have accepted their anger. I was hoping though, that at the very least, I could try and apologize to the Higashikata family - to Tomoko and to Josuke. But, I'll admit, I had a pretty selfish reason too. I was curious to know how the son I never knew was like."

Old Joseph sighed heavily. "But that doesn't mean he wants to do anything with me. Not after what I've done." It especially didn't help when Old Joseph tried to sneak away at first.

Tanjiro looked over to Josuke sitting alone by the stream and out of ear shot. "Is... that what happened just now?"

"Yeah... I wanted to talk to him. I owed him an apology, and was ready for him to yell or punch me, but..."

"You don't have to worry about me bringing it up," Josuke suddenly stated with a blank look as he was staring into the waters. Pulling up a loose strand to the front of his pompadour. "I could tell you were afraid how Great Grandpa would react if he found out."

There was guilt in Old Joseph's eyes. He started to open his mouth to speak, but then Joseph continued. "It's kind of odd for me to call him Great Grandpa, even though I don't know him, but he's a good guy, so it was hard for me not to. It's a little different between you and me, though. In my time, I've met you. You were older, and kind of 'out there'. When we first met, I made some ground rules, and I think I want to do the same with you right now."

"Of course. Anything," Old Joseph complied immediately.

Josuke turned to Old Joseph. "I've been getting to know the old man, but as far as I'm concerned... you and I - the two of us are strangers, especially since I'm still a kid where you're from. I know it's harsh, and I know I called you dad before, but I want to stick to calling you Mr. Joestar for now."

"I... I understand," Old Joseph had to hide the hurt he felt upon hearing that, but he knew it was only the right call for Josuke to make. A perfectly natural thing to do. He knew, especially, that he didn't deserve to be called a father, so he accepted this without any restraint.

"I also don't want to try to explain how I'm your son, especially to Great Gramps," Josuke said with an impassive expression. "Family's important, and I'd hate to cause trouble within the family. Don't worry, I won't do anything that'll shake your relationship with your Grandpa, especially since it's your first time meeting the guy. He doesn't have to know anything."

Old Joseph wanted to tell Josuke that Josuke could never be the reason for any family discourse. It was all Old Joseph after all. But then Josuke asked for some privacy, needing focus to mend his hair, and Old Joseph let him be.

"It's pretty clear to me that Josuke hates me," Old Joseph said resigned. "I don't want to force my way into his life if he doesn't want me around. Even so, I'll do whatever I can to support his family once this is all over, in ways that I failed to."

Tanjiro looked over to where Josuke sat by the stream. "...I don't think he hates you. He might just need some time to adjust."

Tanjiro could smell the air of uncertainty and curiosity in Josuke, but there was also a hidden anger and guilt in the tall teen's chest, yet even under all of that, there was an undeniable air of familiarity of familial love. As if engraved into his very character.

Tanjiro Kamado looked back at Old Joseph. "You and Josuke are good person, Mr. Joseph. I may not understand what's going on between your family members but..."

Tanjiro smiled, "I could tell that, even though you've just found out about Josuke, you've already started to love him like your son. It's up to Josuke if he wants to accept you or not, but I think he'll see how much you really care."

"Ha... You think so?" Old Joseph said. "I'd definitely want him to know that. Whew! I needed to talk about this to somebody. Having it all out now eases the weight in me. Thanks for the ear, kid. I'm honestly a little surprised to see you so understanding after hearing my story."

"Oh no no no," Tanjiro said humbly with a completely pacified expression. "To be frank, cheating is the scummiest thing you could do, and I'd personally beat you up if you ever did that on purpose."

Yikes. He definitely meant that. Old Joseph noted, adjusting his hat. They always say be wary of the gentle ones...

"So does Jonathan know?" Tanjiro asked.

"Ah... no he doesn't, but..." Old Joseph clenched his hat. "I'm not just gonna keep my son a secret from him for long. The way Josuke told me he'd never tell, as if he didn't want to be a bother, when I was the one who messed up, there's no way I'm letting that kid shoulder this."

Setting down his hat beside him, Old Joseph declared. "Once we regroup with the rest of our family, I'll tell everyone. I won't hide behind my shame if it meant hiding Josuke, as if I was ashamed of him. I refuse to let that happen."

Tanjiro felt the sincerity in Old Joseph's intentions, and he nodded. "That's good to hear."

"Although..." Old Joseph suddenly said, grasping his bearded chin, "To be honest, I was actually planning on telling everyone before we got separated. I already told Jotaro, and I have a sneaking feeling Jolyne knows something already. Got to say, I was ready to fess up right in front of them..."

Without warning, Old Joseph reached out and pinched Tanjiro's cheek. "H-huh?! OW!"

"And then some brat came around and just shouted that out to the world! You might not have known, but couldn't you read the room and backtracked?! Who even smells that way?! Can you read my birth certificate through that?! You better not 'smelled' my address!"

"Ow ow ow ow ow! What are you angry at me for?! Why are you acting like a child?! Just how old are you?!"

"I'm sixty-nine! A perfectly healthy age! And if you say I'm in my seventies, I'll hit you with my prosthetic hand!"

Tanjiro repeatedly tapped out against the wrist of Old Joseph until the old man let's go. Old Joseph then abruptly laughed out loud as he good-heartedly patted Tanjiro's shoulder. "Ha! I'm just messing with you. You seem like a good kid. Although, it's still kind of weird just how much you can pick up with that nose of yours."

"Heh. So much for not liking the Japanese," Young Joseph pointed out, turning his head to look over his shoulder as he was lying down on his side. "It doesn't even make sense why you're racist when you literally slept with a Japanese woman."

"I'm not racist! I just don't like how my one and only daughter, and now by extension, my one and only son, are living in Japan when it should be in America with the rest of the family!" Old Joseph angrily explained.

"Sure sure! Keep telling yourself that, you geezer."

"Who are you calling a geezer?! I'm you!"

Tanjiro observed the momentary spat between the two Josephs, having soothed his cheek, he smiled at the scene before letting out a brief laugh.

"Huh? What's so funny, kid? You're not the least bit ticked off by this racist geezer?" Young Joseph asked.

"How many times do I have to keep telling you?! You know you're calling yourself that!" Old Joseph stated.

Tanjiro waved his hand. "It's alright. I can tell he's just joking anyway. It's just that the both of you reminded me of my younger siblings."

"Oh! You got siblings, Kamado-san?" Josuke overheard when he finally returned from the stream, his hair fixed up as he takes his place sitting beside Tanjiro.

"Ah, well..." Tanjiro's smile dimmed. He instinctively clutched the fabric of his pants as he looked down. Mourning quickly flashed through his heart. "I... used to."

The Jojos quickly took notice of Tanjiro's change of tone, and the meaning behind Tanjiro's words. Josuke looked guilty to have brought it up, but Tanjiro kept a strong face.

"My little brothers, Shigeru and Takeo, they sometimes like to tussle and argue, but at the end of the day, they loved each other very much." Tanjiro smiled at the two Josephs in the room. "You two act just like brothers, even though you fight, it's clear that you care about each other. It just feels really nostalgic to me."

"As if I'd care about this guy!" Young Joseph denied, pinching his nose as if the stench of his older self unnerved him. "I'd disown him on the spot!"

"You little punk-!" Old Joseph raised his fist at him before calming himself down with a deep breath, and looked back at Tanjiro. "Our family situation is a bit complicated. I wouldn't necessarily call him a brother, more like an annoying little cousin who likes to seek attention."

"Annoying?! At least I got class and integrity! Something you clearly lost!"

"As if! I still got it even if I'm in my seventies- I mean sixties! And you want to talk about integrity after taking a peek at Lisa Lisa in the bathroom, and our granddaughter's ass?!"

"OH MY GOD! Don't remind me! I didn't know we were related!"

"Sheesh. These guys really have it out for each other," Josuke noted, whispering to Tanjiro. "I know that Young Joseph helped me out of that pit. He was kind of cool doing it too, but after hearing this, I'm not sure if I'd prefer him over the old man."

"Ah..." Tanjiro could only answered, feeling a bit awkward at the scene of family dispute, as well other mentions. "By the way... what do you guys mean when you called each other 'yourselves'?"

The two Joseph's stiffened at the question.

"I also noticed that you two have the exact same smell," Tanjiro added with a confused look. "I would have thought you were twins, or father and son, but that can't be right. And its different between Josuke and Mr. Joseph's scent."

"Holy shit! You do have a freaky sense of smell!" Young Joseph said, not even hiding to show how creeped out he was by it.

Old Joseph coughed. "Erm. Like I said, our family situation is a bit complicated. I'm not sure just how much I can explain. In any case, there's something I'd like to ask you, Tanjiro."

Tanjiro sat upright at the referral. "Yes?"

"There's a lot of questions I have for you, but first, what you said a moment ago caught my interest," Old Joseph began and proceeded gently. "You said that you used to have younger brothers."

Tanjiro clenched the fabric of his pants again.

"It's honestly curious to me why someone as young as you are, is out here in the wilderness all by yourself, with all these monsters running around. Tell me, what-"

"Hey, geezer," Young Joseph suddenly spoke, interrupting Old Joseph. "Don't bug him with any questions, alright? We're tired enough as it is. Let the kid rest first."

The serious expression in Young Joseph's face took Josuke by surprise. Old Joseph frowned at his younger self, seeing past Young Joseph's ego, as if there was something Young Joseph understood that Old Joseph hadn't seen for himself yet.

"...Hmph." Old Joseph huffed, crossing his arms. "Fine, fine. Then at least answer me this question before I leave you to rest... Are you a competitor?"

"Ah, yes, I am," Tanjiro answered honestly. He didn't see any reason to lie, not that he could. He was a terrible liar.

"I could have told you that, old man!" Young Josuke said, pointing at the wooden box sitting beside Tanjiro. "Just look at the side of that box- Oh."

Tanjiro blinked at Young Joseph's surprised face. "What's wrong?"

"Uhh, kid? Your patch is usually on the side of the box, right? I'm pretty sure I saw it on that side..."

"Oh. Yes, it's-" Tanjiro moved the wooden box to show the patch he had there, only to find nothing but the wood itself. "Eh? EH?!"

Tanjiro searched throughout the entire box, but could not find his patch. "No way. NO WAY! It's gone!"

"Ah... Looks like it got lost in the quicksand," Old Joseph said. "How many stars did you had?"

"Three..."

"Oof." The Jojos expressed their pity together.

"Well, actually, I have one right now, thanks to the monster ants around here," Tanjiro leaned against his crate in utter defeat. "I was so close... I could have gotten four stars by now. Just one more would have let me pass the Preliminary."

"Well, you're in luck! Look what I got!"

Everyone turned to Young Joseph who held out a patch full of stars. "Guess who snatched this up from that forest demon bitch?"

"Whoa! Look at all those stars!" Josuke counted each of the stars. "There's eight of them! Nice!"

"And not only that, but I've swiped a bunch of other stars last night before me, gramps, and Tanjiro found you and geezer here!" With a wave of his hand as Young Joseph sat up, he revealed four stars in one hand. "You remember that invisible lizard you saved me from, Tanjiro? I managed to snatch its sliced tongue before those bears showed up. I would have gotten more from those monsters and that forest demon, but then they up and vanished on us! Luckily, I was able to get a piece of hair from that wolfman, and adding that ogre I got its teeth from, plus a piece of fur from those monster wildcats earlier, and the monster ants here..."

Young Joseph plucked the star from the stolen patch of a deceased competitor. "Then finally this star, that sums up to six! And you all thought I wouldn't get even one!"

He then tossed one star to Josuke and Old Joseph. "There's about enough for all of us, even you kid."

Young Joseph tossed a third star to Tanjiro, who quickly caught the gold star. "N-no! I couldn't! You got this yourself!"

"That was a team effort, between you, Gramps, and me. I'd say we all earned a piece of that." Young Joseph's smile dropped as he looked at the extra star in his hand, and then tossed another for Tanjiro. "Actually, you did save me from that lizard. That kill's also yours, fair and square."

"No no no! You earned this! I was too slow to catch any of them." Tanjiro stood up and quickly approached the seated Young Joseph. "Here. I'm fine with accepting the star from the forest demon, but this star should belong to you."

"Hey, come on kid. If you keep that then you get back all three stars-" Young Joseph stopped when Tanjrio grabbed his hand and firmly slammed the star back into his hand.

"Please take this back and thank you for your generosity!"

"Oi! What's the matter with you?! I'm trying to be nice here!"

Old Joseph and Josuke watched as Tanjiro and Young Josuke struggled to give the other a star. It was at this moment that Jonathan returned, clearing away some debris around the campsite and decided to check up on his family and new ally that is Tanjiro. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes! Everything is perfectly fine!" Tanjiro angrily stated.

"Like hell it is! This kid has trouble accepting gifts!" Young Joseph said.

"I cannot allow myself to be indebted to anyone. Thank you but I must decline!" Tanjiro said with a prominent "hmph!" as if putting his foot down on the matter.

"Holy sh-owza," Young Joseph saved himself in the presence of Jonathan. "You are stubborn, and for the wrong reasons! Don't tell me you've never asked for anything selfish in your life? You should be a little more greedy, you know?"

"Well I think it's a nice change of pace. It's not everyday kids his age acts so selfless," Old Joseph said. "Then again, I think it's only fair if we let you have an extra star. After all the help you've done for us."

"No no! I'm perfectly satisfied with just these two stars! There's no need for that!" Tanjiro said with a shake of his head. His earrings swaying with it. Josuke chuckled lightly at Tanjiro's expression. Jonathan smiled, impressed with Tanjiro's manners.

Sheesh, maybe this kid is a bit too modest, Old Joseph noted. He finished purifying the stream water with the assistance of Hamon. "Why don't you take a break, gramps? I'll be our lookout next."

"Very well. Thank you, Joseph," Jonathan said as the old man stood up. "I'll keep my eye on the kettle. I have some tea packets we could use for our drinks. How does that sound?"

Calming down, Tanjiro smiled, "Sure! That sounds great."

Josuke personally preferred coffee, but since this was his Great Gramps, he didn't want to be rude, and so he happily accepted the offer. "Yeah. I don't mind that."

"Tea?" Young Joseph was about to complain, wanting a bottle of cola instead, but since this was his grandfather asking, he relented. "Eh, sure. Why not? It's been a while since I've had tea, not since I've last had it with... erm."

"With Granny Erina, yes?" Jonathan asked. A warm look of longing filled his eyes that shimmered with the fire. "It's so good to hear that she's still alive and has been looking out for you. If you have any time, I'd like to know more about how's she's been."

"Yeah. Sure thing," Young Joseph said as he also held a fondness in his eyes at the mention of his grandmother. "For you gramps, I'll tell you all the memories and stories I have with her."

Giving a smile, Jonathan began mixing the tea inside the kettle, all the while happily chatting with the group. After placing the tea kettle onto the fireplace, he rummaged through his backpack. "Have a ration box, everyone. I know it's nothing compared to a good, warm English or Japanese breakfast, but I hope this will fill your bellies good enough."

"Thanks, Great Gramps!" Josuke said as he accepted the ration box.

"Here, Tanjiro," Jonathan said as he offered a box to the boy. "There's an extra box I have with me. Feel free to have it."

"Ah! Thank you!" Tanjiro accepted the ration box happily. "I lost my bag a while ago. Though to be honest, I pretty much ate my last ration last night before that explosion happened."

"You don't carry your food in that wooden box?"

Tanjiro stiffened at Jonathan's question. The Jojos immediately took notice of this, looking at Tanjiro curiously. "Um, well... no."

"Oh. Then what do you carry?" Jonathan's eyes glistened with innocent curiosity.

"Um. Uhh..." Tanjiro took note of all the curious gaze towards him. With a small grimace and gulping down his nervousness, Tanjiro gave his answer.

"...Mmmmossstlllyyy c-clllllloooothess... and... tthhhhaaaattt'sssss aaaabbbbooouuuuut iiiiiit...!" Tanjir's face strained so painfully at this attempt of a lie, so accustomed to his earnest-self that to do otherwise would turn him into a completely different person.

"... What is that face? Do you need to take a dump?" Young Joseph asked plainspokenly. Josuke was both disturbed and impressed by Tanjiro's face muscle exercise.

Jonathan blinked widely at the boy's sudden strangeness, then the man lets out a gentle smile. "I see... Well I'm glad you were able to save that. A good change of clothes is something I could certainly use for, but it looks like we'll have to wait until we find a lake or a town to freshen ourselves."

"Y-yes," Tanjiro could only answer, looking down at his ration box. He suddenly felt too guilty to open it after having lied to this kind man. Young Joseph rested his face against his hand as he stared at the teen.

"Go ahead and open it. We'll need to keep our bodies strong and full of energy before we should have to move again," Jonathan said as he nodded to the others as well. "That goes for you two also. The tea should be ready by now. I'll go and let Old Joseph know. Josuke, would you mind serving the tea for everyone?"

"Yeah! Sure thing!" Josuke complied, pulling out the travel cups from his bag. After giving his thanks, Jonathan stood up and goes to retrieve Old Joseph.

Tanjiro looked back down on the ration box and then opened it. Inside, there were a set of small sandwiches with some cookies on the side, and a small cup of fruits. It looked so simple yet elegant and must certainly be delicious.

"Hey, Tanjiro. You want to trade that fruit cup for one rice ball?" Josuke asked as he served the first cup of hot tea to Tanjiro.

"Yes! Thank you!" Tanjiro accepted the trade. His heart elated at the grasp of a single rice ball, and he took a bite out of it at once.

Young Joseph decided to take a drink of the tea first, and he nearly spit it back out. "Hot hot hot hot!"

"Oh! My bad Joseph. I forgot to mention that the tea's still hot," Josuke apologized.

"Shiiit. This just makes me want Cola all the more," Young Joseph complained.

Josuke could barely hold back his laugh as Young Joseph started to blow away the steam from the tea. If Tanjiro didn't know any better, he would have thought that Josuke meant to serve that tea hot to Young Joseph.

"So, Tanjiro-kun, do you hunt monsters for a living or something?" Josuke started to chat.

Tanjiro nodded. "Yeah. It's my job. After training for two years, I've slayed demons in my travel."

"Whoa! That's pretty radical. And you look younger than I am. How old are you?"

"I'm fifteen. What about you?"

"I'm sixteen. I know I don't look like it because of my height. I've only ever played video games at home, though. You got to be a hardened badass to be hunting monsters at your age."

"Well, it isn't easy. I'll admit that. It can also be really scary. But the payoff is worth it if it meant keeping people safe."

"Wow. You sound like those heroes in a Shonen magazine! That's pretty cool. You're kind of like Great Gramps then."

"...Um, sorry, but what's a 'Shonen magazine'? Also, what are 'video games'?"

"You don't know what-?! Damn, you really must be from the past or something. Just like Joseph here and Mr. Jonathan, and I guess Mr. Joestar too, though not by a lot."

"Eh? The past?"

"Yup! Just how it sounds!" Young Joseph piped up, tossing a sandwich into his mouth. "It's a looong story. Well, not really, since it literally just happened yesterday, but I'm still trying to figure it all out. Probably better not to get too deep into it right now."

"Oh! Shit! Right! Maybe there's like some kind of butterfly effect we'll be dealing with here... unless it might be better if he does know?" Josuke said. "Um, sorry, this probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you, Tanjiro. J-Just trust us on this. It really is a lot and kind of hard to explain."

"Ah... I understand... maybe," Tanjiro said. "Then again, I'm still trying to understand where we are. I've heard that there are several competitors all from different worlds and eras. In hindsight, I guess this whole thing is just really..."

"Bizarre," they all said in unison, letting the word float in the air for a moment before they resumed eating.

"Okay, so basically, video games are like-" Josuke began to prattle, explaining the concept of video games and magazines, with Tanjiro doing his best but ultimately failing to understand half of Josuke's explanation, though Tanjiro did at least understand what magazines are. Essentially telling stories through pictures.

Young Joseph then decided to add in a little more imagination to the explanation, derailing the conversation to flying cars and robot dinosaurs, which Josuke honestly couldn't help but play along, and at this point Tanjiro was almost certain are they were just messing with the country bumpkin.

From outside the camp, Old Joseph and Jonathan observed the three youngsters by the campfire.

"...That kid is hiding something," Old Joseph stated.

Jonathan said nothing.

"I don't know what it is, but he swore that if I take care of that box, it'll protect me." Old Joseph crossed his arms. "I just can't figure out what he has that's so much more important than his own life."

"...If it means that much to him, then we should make sure it stays safe as well," Jonathan declared. "After the courage he showed, and helping us find you and Josuke, I won't pry into his secrets. I'll leave it to him if he wishes to tell us or not."

"You sure about that?" Old Joseph asked.

Jonathan nodded. "...Last night, when me and Young Joseph were separated from Tanjiro, and he went off to face the forest demon alone, urging us to return to you and Josuke, I tried to stop him. I told him not to risk his life, or his parents might get worried."

Jonathan's eyes grew sad. "He then looked back at us, and what I saw... It made my heart ache. He had the kindest smile I have ever seen, and the saddest eyes. He told us not to worry, that his family was watching over him, and he won't lose because of that."

Old Joseph took a deep breath. "If he's saying that, then it must mean... his family is dead."

Jonathan's eyes glistened. "He has such a kind soul, and yet there was so much pain in that gaze. I don't wish to ever leave him, not during the Preliminary, and not after it. It doesn't matter if he's a competitor. I... I wish to help him."

Old Joseph looked back at Jonathan. Is he suggesting...

He then looked at Tanjiro again, who was both at a loss yet enjoying himself at the company of Josuke and Young Joseph. "...Whatever you have in mind, I'll support you, gramps. He's a good kid, that Tanjiro. To be honest, I kind of want to look out for him too, and I have a feeling the others will feel the same way."

Jonathan was appreciative to hear that, and for a moment, they simply stood there in observance as the three young members of their group enjoyed their meal and tea together.

Author's Note: I decided to end it here. Don't want to drag it on like what happened with Nagisa's chapter. This will end up becoming a multi-parter of Tanjiro's story in this fic. It's not as in depth as Emma or Nagisa, so hopefully next chapter will be much better. I really, REALLY wanted for them to talk about Hamon and Water Breathing, but there just wasn't any room and everyone was so dead beat tired after the all night brawling they had.

For sure though, or at least I hope so, next chapter will have Tanjiro and the Hamon Users talk about their respective breathing styles. Look forward to it!

Also. I just wanted to say that the camp the Jojos and Tanjiro found was the same camp Emma set up before she had to abandon it. Also, in regards to Joseph Joestar, I've read a lot of discussions regarding why he cheated on his wife when it seemed completely out of character, and so this is my head canon.

With all that said and done, I'll see you guys later! Please leave a kind and honest review!