Balanced Goose: I really enjoy that one! It would definitely make an interesting fight!
PhantomKnightPercival: Knowing Todoroki, he might secretly enjoy them.
FinchFlyingAce: Thanks!
Humble3dore: Deku might be getting a morally ambiguous moment of his own, coming up. I also love the stand!
Euphoria: That could work, I think I have an idea for how they could have a really strong combo attack.
Bearticguy7: I should make a stand library at this point! I need to save all of these!
"C'MERE!"
"What in the-?" Johnny was caught off guard as Kyoka hugged him from behind, and she proceeded to lift him up and spun about him around, laughing the whole time.
She was glowing, he had never seen her so happy.
Johnny grinned as she set him down. "Well someone's in a good mood."
"I'm in a GREAT mood! We did it, she smiled!"
"We wouldn't have if you hadn't busted your ass on this, you made this whole thing possible, if anything YOU did it!"
"Nuh uh! We all did it, including you! AND YOU!" Kyoka pointed at Gyro, who was just walking over to them. "THE BUBBLES! THEY WERE SO COOL!"
"My family has a history with making cool bubbles." Gyro said with a grin. "God damn Kyoka, I haven't seen you this happy since you found out that Johnny got his legs back."
"I did what I set out to do, and...people loved it, they actually loved it. As a girl with confidence issues, this was...just so incredible." Kyoka said, before taking Johnny's hand. "Come on."
"Hm?"
"I want to make the most of today...and I can't think of better people to spend it with." Kyoka said, still beaming. "Let's find Izuku and enjoy the rest of today, shall we?"
"Of course."
Gyro was about to reply, when he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. "You guys go on...I'll catch up."
Johnny and Kyoka looked at each other, and then Kyoka's eyes widened as she saw why Gyro wanted to hang back. She used an earphone jack to point behind Johnny's shoulder, and as soon as Johnny turned around, he understood.
Gregorio Zeppeli was standing in the crowd with his arms behind his back, waiting for his son to approach. Gyro nodded at his friends, and went over to his father.
"Padre."
"Son."
"You came..."
"I'm glad I did...that concert was...wonderful, Gyro."
"You finally used my name."
Gregorio sighed and hung his head. "I have...treated you harshly, and truthfully...it's because I was afraid of change, afraid of the Zeppeli family heading towards disaster once more...you never had the heart to be an executioner, you're too kind. I should have seen that long ago, instead of pushing you to become something you're not."
"I know you did it out of love."
"I'm not father material...Joseph Joestar is...better equipped for that. I have devoted my entire life to renouncing attachment...but yes, I did it out of love. These people...they bring out the best in you, and it wouldn't be fair if I took you away from them. My kind, caring, brave, and compassionate son...I'm proud to know that you have become a better man than me. You are a hero, Gyro...especially after what I saw today, I believe that this is where you belong."
"Padre...I don't know what to say..." Gyro said, trying not to cry. This was the first time his father had ever said that he was proud of him.
"Say nothing, I speak nothing but the truth. I'm departing soon...and I wanted to see you before I go, to give you my blessing on this life that you were made for. Gyro...I love you, my son." Gregorio was suddenly crushed as his teenaged son threw his arms around him.
"I love you too Padre...and thank you..."
Gregorio initially didn't know what to do, but slowly put his hand onto his son's back. "You're welcome."
The two Zeppelis separated, and Gregorio awkwardly coughed and walked away. Gyro was suddenly in the same boat as Kyoka...he had hoped he would at least reconcile with his father, but instead he got something more, something he always wanted: acceptance.
As Gregorio made his way towards the gate, he stopped in front of a certain brown-haired Brit. Joseph and Gregorio stared at each other for a while, before the elder Zeppeli finally spoke up.
"Your next line is: 'Please be the father that my son deserves.'"
"Please, be the father that my son deserves." Gregorio said, not even fazed.
"You have my word, Mr. Zeppeli."
Gregorio nodded, and exited the premesis, while Joseph smiled as he held up the bubble wand he had won from a dart game.
"You have my word."
"JOJOOOOOO!"
Johnny laughed as Eri clamped around his leg, the little girl was wearing a smile that could warm DIO's icy heart. "Hey Eri!"
"Earphone Jack sang! She was so pretty! And then it went BOOM! and-"
Johnny listened to Eri ramble on about the performance, taking in her excitement and happiness as if it were a drug. This was what they were fighting for...now Eri could finally have a happy childhood.
He was able to give her what he could not have, and that was all he could really ask for. This was why he was a hero.
"Where is Earphone Jack?" Eri asked, curiously.
"I think she's trying to win you a prize, Eri!" Johnny pointed towards a stand filled with balloons, where Kyoka was spinning darts on her jacks, getting ready to throw.
"Ooooooh!" Eri said, running over to watch Kyoka's attempt. Kyoka beamed as soon as the little girl entered her line of sight, and got ready, before hurling both darts, managing to pop a balloon. Unfortunately, the other dart missed.
"Turd monkeys!" Kyoka said, when Johnny pointed at the table.
"You still have one dart left."
"I'm not as good of a shot as you."
"Then I'll help you. Here, take it in your hand..."
Kyoka took the dart and blushed as Johnny wrapped his hand around hers, helping her aim, with other arm draped around her shoulders. "Come on...we're in public..."
"I'm helping you."
"You're not, you just want to get me all flustered, being all romantic and shit."
"Is it working?" Johnny whispered into her ear, and Kyoka fought back a smile.
"I hate you."
"You haven't thrown the dart yet."
"It's gonna go in your eye if you aren't careful."
Johnny rested his chin on her shoulder. "Just...appreciating you, that's all."
Kyoka threw the dart, and completely missed, but Johnny had shot a nail bullet at the same time, popping a balloon near the dart in order to make it appear as though Kyoka had skimmed it. As Kyoka was handed a giant stuffed bear, she passed it down to Eri, who was absolutely delighted.
"You dirty cheat." Kyoka scolded her boyfriend, lightly punching his chest. Johnny merely shrugged in response.
"I have no regrets."
"IT'S SO FLUFFY!" Eri shouted, running off to show Izuku her new stuffed animal.
"Besides...it's pretty much her first toy that she's actually happy to have. I'm more than happy to cheat for her."
Kyoka smiled, and then she had a thought. "Do you mind if I ask a...personal question?"
"Not at all...are you wondering if I had any toys growing up?" Johnny asked, and Kyoka nodded in response.
"I didn't have any...real ones. Cummings only spent enough money on me to keep me alive, she rarely treated me, but she DID have a box of toys that she said were mine, she just dumped them on my bedroom floor whenever someone was coming to visit. I DID get to play with Jolyne though, so it wasn't like it was completely without fun, and of course I would always hang around Izuku and Katsuki..."
"All the more reason I'm happy that woman is dead." Kyoka stated, before grinning. "Do you want me to win you something too? We can play horsey later!"
"Yare yare daze...you're ridiculous."
"Embrace your inner child, Jouta!"
"Kyoka, seri...you absolute dickweed."
Kyoka giggled. "I'm so glad Jolyne told me that, I love seeing your face just..."
"It's an evil name that only brings misfortune to those cursed with it."
Kyoka tilted her head. "Why DO you hate that name so much?"
"It was one of the names my parents considered for me...but it just gives me this uneasy feeling whenever I hear it. Apparently, according to my dad, as soon as baby me heard the name Jouta in the hospital, I cried."
"...That's a little weird, I'm not gonna lie."
"I know it is, not to mention whenever I hear the name I have thoughts about eggs for some reason...I don't know why it is, but it is."
"Maybe it's some weird psychic warning."
The group, now reunited, was currently watching the beauty contest, although most of them looked pretty bored. Momo wanted to support her friend Kendo, so they ended up watching it anyway.
"Why is there a contest that measures the worth of people by their looks anyway? Imagine what it would do to someone if they lost." Kyoka said, crossing her arms.
"It's less about who they find most attractive, and who can put on a better spectacle. Although I do agree that such a contest would be rather degrading." Momo replied.
"I think we should enroll Izuku into the beauty contest, that way he could do his All Might face." Gyro said with a smile. "Because THAT'S a spectacle!"
To prove Gyro's point, Izuku's face morphed into a scarily perfect All Might impression. "I AIM TO PLEASE, YOUNG ZEPPELI!"
"Nyo ho!"
"Yare yare...just when I thought I would never see that monstrosity again...do you know he's been making that face since we were six?" Johnny said, and Izuku whirled around.
"AND IT MADE YOU LAUGH EVERY TIME!"
Johnny had to chuckle. "It's like an eldritch horror, seeing All Might's face on your scrawny ass body...well back when you were scrawny anyway. Then again...you are still a bit disproportionate, aren't you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Izuku demanded, going back to his normal face.
"You look like a Cabbage Patch Kid with Arnold Schwarzenegger's body."
"Wha-"
"It's true Izuku, you have a severe case of baby face." Kyoka chimed in, smiling.
"Hado is literally flying above us right now, sparkling and shit, and you guys are talking about Izuku's toddler face." Gyro said.
"Notice how he never denied it." Johnny said, smirking.
"I...I mean...uh...at least it's better than plain!" Izuku said, shrugging.
"We could enter him in one of those child beauty pagents, and we could sell him as the world's strongest ten-year old." Kyoka stated.
"Small Might! We'll call him Small Might!"
"Why do I still hang out with you guys?" Izuku asked, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Because I was your first true friend?" Johnny said.
"Because you love us?" Kyoka added.
"We gave you Stockholm Syndrome?" Gyro continued.
"You have a kind heart and you see through their antics?" Momo said with a smile.
"You're an idiot nerd?" Bakugo entered the conversation.
"I think it's some combination of all of those." Izuku said, scratching the back of his head. "Still...I'm glad that I do...you all make this whole situation worth it."
"We're glad you hang out with us too, Izuku. I can't just tease Johnny all the time, I need to vary a bit, you know?" Kyoka said.
"...I want a divorce."
"We're not married yet."
"I will marry you, divorce you, then marry you again, so all that paperwork you had to do would be meaningless."
"...why do I actually feel threatened by that?"
"I'm glad you could make it Shota, the kids looked pretty happy to see you." Jotaro said, walking beside his blind friend.
"I wanted to see how my class was holding up...I'm glad they respect you as they did me." Aizawa said with a small smile. "They really look up to you..."
"I never wanted to replace you, you know. In my mind, you'll always be 1A's homeroom teacher."
"I appreciate that...but I think you're a pretty good fit. I couldn't imagine trusting any of the other idiots with my class...especially Yagi, the man can barely teach his own succesor."
Jotaro stopped. "I don't recall telling you about...Midoriya's power..."
Aizawa patted Jotaro on the shoulder. "He's a mediocre teacher...but he DOES keep in touch. Yagi pretty much explained the whole situation to me. Maybe...Class 1A needs a stand user looking after them right now, someone who can properly fight alongside them. My abilities only work on quirks...well, worked...so I would've been useless anyway."
"Nonsense...your quirk never defined you."
"That's why I'm still trying to be a hero. Did you notice that I don't need a cane in order to walk?"
"...Shota, are you turning into Daredevil?"
"No, I'm Eraserhead."
"Alright Meatball...I'm not changing my mind about the bet...but I'll help you out. Are you ready?" Kyoka asked, picking up her acoustic guitar to tune it.
"Are you? You DID give it your all eariler, don't want you to strain your vocal cords." Gyro said.
"Eh, I'm fine right now, I'll be taking it easy...I just hope I don't flub the Italian."
"Don't worry, nobody understands the language except Johnny and I, so you'll only get flack from us." Gyro said with a smile, earning a light punch on the shoulder from Kyoka.
"Shut up, I'm doing this out of the kindness of my heart you know."
"Or you just wanted to woo Johnny in Italian."
Kyoka closed her eyes. "You're impossible."
The two made their way onto the beauty contest stage, passing a girl from the support course that had a little too much makeup, who was currently piloting a giant mechanical version of her own face. Kyoka raised an eyebrow, but decided not to question it.
The crowd fell silent as they made their way on stage.
"Hello everyone! I'm Gyro Zeppeli, the foreign exchange student from Class 1A, and I speak pizza!"
"Yare yare...I'm Kyoka Jiro...I sang earlier...and I owe him a favor."
"This one goes out to some very special people in our life...people who we couldn't imagine living without." Gyro said with a grin, and Kyoka brought her guitar up.
"Pizza Mozarella
Pizza Mozarella
Rella rella rella-"
*SMACK!*
"OUCH!"
The crowd chuckled.
"That is NOT what we practiced!" Kyoka said with a glare, albeit while also trying to suppress laughter.
"I'm warming up!"
"Sure you are."
Gyro shook his head. "Alright...let's do this."
Kyoka shook her head and smiled, and began playing her guitar, strumming out a slow, intimate beat.
"THANK YOU SPECIAL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!" Gyro shouted before the song began.
"Ti amo
In sogno, ti amo
In aria, ti amo
Se viene testa vuol dire che basta lasciamoci
Ti amo
Io sono, ti amo
In fondo un uomo
Che non ha freddo nel cuore e nel letto, comando io
Ma tremo davanti al tuo seno
Ti odio e ti amo
È una farfalla che muore sbattendo le ali."
Kyoka then chimed in with a verse of her own, a soft smile gracing her lips.
L'amore che a letto si fa (ti amo)
Rendimi l'altra metà (ti amo, ti amo)
Oggi ritorno da lei (ti amo, ti amo)
Primo Maggio, su coraggio (ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo)
Gyro joined back in, and the two of them started to sing together for the chorus. Gyro stood on the edge of the stage, and several hands of excited girls reached for him while Kyoka rolled her eyes. Gyro was working the old Zeppeli charm.
"Io ti amo e chiedo perdono
Ricordi chi sono
Apri la porta a un guerriero di carta igienica"
Gyro had gone back to singing the verses, while Kyoka made eye contact with Johnny in the crowd, smiling, occasionally providing Gyro with some background singing. Johnny couldn't help but smile back. On top of all the effort she put into writing "Hero Too"...she also went through the trouble of learning an Italian song for him, needless to say he was touched.
"E dammi il tuo vino leggero (ti amo, ti amo)
Che hai fatto quando non c'ero (ti amo, ti amo)
E le lenzuola di lino (ti amo, ti amo
Dammi il sonno di un bambino (ti amo, ti amo, ti amoCheChe, ta, sogna cavalli e si gira (si gira)
E un po' di lavoro
Fammi abbracciare una donna che stira cantando."
Kyoka once again took over, her eyes shining as she put every ounce of passion she had into the lyrics.
"E poi fatti un po' prendere in giro (ti amo)
Prima di fare l'amore (ti amo, ti amo)
Vesti la rabbia di pace e sottane sulla luce (ti amo, ti amo)"
The crowd, while not as big as the one for 1A's performance, was nonetheless just as enthralled by the Italian ballad. Gyro and Kyoka once again joined together for the chorus.
"Io ti amo e chiedo perdono
Ricordi chi sono
Ti amo, I have to pee amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo."
Kyoka glared at Gyro as they continued.
"Dammi il tuo vino leggero
Che hai fatto quando non c'ero
E le lenzuola di lino
Dammi il sonno di un bambino
Che, ta, sogna (sogna) cavalli e si gira (gira)
E un po' di lavoro
Fammi abbracciare una donna che stira cantando."
Kyoka took over.
"E poi fatti un po' prendere in giro (ti amo)
Prima di fare l'amore (ti amo, ti amo)
Vesti la rabbia di pace e sottane sulla luce."
Finally, the two joined together to close out the song.
"Io ti amo, ti amo, ti
Amo, ti amo, ti
Amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo
Ti amo, ti amo, ti
Amo, ti amo, ti
Amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, ti amo."
"Thank you for your time!" Gyro said, flashing another smile into the crowd, and a thump was heard as someone fainted.
"Jeez, I think people might be as crazy for you as they are for JoJo."
"People like foreigners."
As they exited the building, Momo suddenly ran up. "You guys! That was so amazing! I'm...I'm really touched, Gyro."
Gyro made a confused face. "I said 'special people', I don't recall ever saying your name."
"I...uh..."
Gyro grinned knowingly. "I could've been singing for Johnny, the guy is like a brother to me after all...or maybe it WAS for you, it's really up to interpretation."
"I see what you've done."
"Do you?"
"Yes, I do, and I'm embarrassed that I walked right into a trap."
"It's only a trap if you don't want to get caught." Gyro replied with a smirk, and Momo blushed and turned away.
"You...have a point...it was for me, right?"
"...yeah, it was."
Momo clenched her fists, turned around, kissed Gyro on the cheek, and ran off to cope with her loss.
Gyro had won today's battle.
Meanwhile, Kyoka was begrudgingly pulling out her phone. "Mina? Yeah...are we allowed to change our bets on GyMo? I may have betted...prematurely..."
Johnny noticed his girlfriend's sour expression and smiled. "Gyro's trap worked didn't it?"
"You knew it was a trap?!"
"As soon as he said 'special people'. I can't believe you actually learned an Italian song..."
"Well, in case it isn't obvious, I like you, so...I wanted to do something thoughtful for you...for being there with me throughout this whole journey." Kyoka took his hands and smiled. "What's a little extra singing compared to the things you've done for me?"
"It...it meant alot, Kyoka."
"It was supposed to. I just didn't know that it was also supposed to help Gyro swindle me into changing my bet!" Kyoka said, pouting. "If I lose 2,000 yen to Mina Ashido, I swear to God..."
"I mean...it isn't all that much..."
"But she would hold it over my head! 'Look at me! I just won 2,000 yen from Jiro! Tee hee!'" Kyoka mocked in a sing-songy voice, earning a snort from Johnny. "But...I guess it was worth it...seeing you smile is worth more than money could ever buy."
"Wow...that's kind of sappy."
"It's also the truth, so I think I'm allowed to be a little sappy. You mean a lot to me, Johnny Kujo."
"Likewise..." Johnny said, kissing her forehead. "Do you want to eat out? It's my treat."
"No way."
"Kyoka...you've put so much effort into this festival, and you learned an Italian song for me on top of that, I'm buying you dinner."
"Fine, as long as we don't go to Tonio's like last time...ugh.." Kyoka shuddered.
"He cured your tummy ache."
"He BLEW UP my tummy!"
"And you felt great after, right?"
"I never want to see my own guts again."
"Alright, alright...ramen?"
"I would love that."
As the two departed from the UA campus to go for celebratory ramen, they failed to notice sparks coming from around the corner.
A special thank you to my friend Kosaku Valentine for recommending Ti Amo by Umberto Tozzi!
