Jotaro is running.
He does not know why he's running, or who he is running from, but there is this feeling at the back of his mind that if he stops, if he turns around, even for a moment–
He is dead.
Not that he is making much progress here, wading through a sea of rose petals. Every step he drags through the soft, swirling ocean feels slow and cumbersome, and he can't afford to slow down like this. Jotaro grits his teeth and tries to push himself further, tries to run faster.
It goes about as well as he expects. His foot catches on something buried beneath, and with a cry, he falls face-first into the petals.
"Star Platinum!"
The air around him gleams purple, and from the faint traces of stardust steps forth Star Platinum with a roar. Its fists swing out in defense, ready to defend him from–
Nothing.
With a groan, Jotaro picks himself off the floor and wipes his jacket clean. "Huh. Weird," he says, flicking the collar of his jacket. "Could've sworn there was something there."
If there was, it's long gone now, leaving him standing in the middle of a sea of roses beneath a shimmering red sky.
Maybe it was just paranoia. Jotaro's learned to trust his paranoia–with Stand Users around every bend, he can never be sure if the shadows that cling to the edges of his vision are really just shadows–but sometimes, he's wrong.
Sometimes is not enough to take that risk, Jotaro thinks. He sighs, and leans back against the wall.
A wall?
Jotaro glances over his shoulder, and finds that it is not a wall he is leaning on, but a roller coaster track so tall and so high, Jotaro cannot see where it ends. Taking a quick look around, he realizes that it is not the only thing here. A funhouse with a clown mask over the entrance makes obnoxious noises to his left. To his right, teacups spin around a sparkling gold pole, and looming in the distance, he spies a ferris wheel towering over the forest of bright blue trees around him. Nearby, black waves lap at the shore of a sandy blue beach, and he has to wonder–
Where the hell is he?
He's not in Jeddah, that's for sure. His first thought is illusions, but even for illusions, everything feels much too hazy. Jotaro reaches out and presses his fingers against the track of the roller coaster. It's there, but his touch glides over the metal like it is only barely so.
"I'm dreaming, aren't I?" he says, unimpressed.
Jotaro turns to Star Platinum, like he has any real answers. Star Platinum is a Stand, after all, so perhaps he understands whatever the hell this is better than he does, but Star Platinum offers him a helpless shrug. Jotaro is not sure why, but Star Platinum looks guilty about it.
It's not like this is a Stand thing. For all he knows, maybe he'd just had bad food on the flight over here, or maybe someone had laced his last cigarette.
Then, Jotaro scowls. Oh. That's right. I haven't had a cig in days. Is this what withdrawal feels like, then?
Whenever he wakes up, he is gonna have to have a smoke ASAP, because he does not want a repeat of whatever the hell this is.
Stupid, maybe, but with his burns from the Sun fight still healing, nothing is off the table. With nothing better to do, Jotaro pulls his cap over his head and goes out for a stroll, Star Platinum hovering over his shoulder.
There is nothing here that seems dangerous or screams Stand power. Petals twirl and scatter in a breeze that tickles his scalp. One of the teacups spins on its base. He and Star Platinum keep their eyes peeled for anything that could signal an ambush laid beneath them, but the incessant chatter in his ear is keeping him from thinking straight, and he scowls.
"Oi, shut up," Jotaro says over his shoulder.
Star Platinum gives him a glum look in return. It takes a moment for Jotaro to realize that Ruby isn't here, then another to realize what that means. Narrowing his eyes, he sweeps over the park, listening to the strange murmur that hangs in the air. Maybe it is a new presence, or maybe it has always been there and he has been too panicked to notice. Jotaro has no idea what it is–only that he is far too exposed.
"...o n...o...no...i ho...no no..."
One by one, he eliminates the possible places it could be coming from. Teacups? Too open. Ferris wheel? Too far. Slowly, his eyes land on the fun house.
The sea of petals part for him. His fingers grip the entrance. Jotaro pulls himself inside. Every step draws him closer. Slowly, the words that he is hearing become clearer.
"...no no no no no..."
Reaching out, Jotaro brushes aside a curtain of colorful streamers and steps inside. For how colorful it seems on the outside, Jotaro is surprised to find how black it is here, the darkness clinging to the walls like a cloak. The dim light pooling in from the entrance is enough to make out a floor, sure, but there is nothing here. No mirrors, no artwork. Just him, and the silver outline of a man clasping his head, huddled in the corner.
Star Platinum steps in front of Jotaro, guard raised. Jotaro quietly assures him that it might not be needed. This man, if he is even real, poses no threat. He cannot be much older than Jotaro is, and though much of his face is obscured by the cloth fastened around his head, Jotaro can see that he is shaking.
"Oi," he says. "Who the hell are you?"
The man does not reply. He does not even acknowledge that he is there. His strange mutterings continue to stream out of his mouth, his eyes grow wider and more desperate.
"Oi," Jotaro says, and this time he seizes the man by the shoulder. "Who the hell are you? You need help or something?"
A sharp pain shoots up his palm like a blade on his skin. Jotaro frowns, and he turns his hand over to find that his nails have dug through his palm.
The same hand he'd been gripping the man with.
Jotaro blinks. His hand opens and closes. There is no one there. There never was anyone there.
The streamers gently brush over his back. Slowly, Jotaro backs out of the funhouse.
What the fuck? he thinks. This is some weird dream I'm having.
Is it even a dream? Jotaro isn't sure. The rising green sun is a bit of a giveaway, but...
No. This doesn't feel right.
This doesn't feel right at all.
Jotaro spends the entire night waiting for the other shoe to drop. It never does, and when he wakes up, despite how refreshed he feels, he can't help but feel an uneasy feeling clinging to his back like a parasite.
Tearing off a piece of the flatbread laid before her and shoving it into her mouth, Ruby watched as, across the street, a group of girls spilled out from a small store, bags clutched in their hands as they chatted with each other. Even from all the way here, she could tell that they were having fun.
I want to have fun too, she thought, sighing as she scooped another helping of meat and peppers from a nearby bowl onto her plate. I wish I was with them. If I get back to Beacon–when I get back to Beacon, maybe I can take my team out to the city. I think they would like that.
Of course, she was gonna have to wait until she actually got back to Beacon for that. When that was gonna happen, she had no idea, but if Jotaro was always gonna take this long to buy them boat tickets, she was gonna be waiting for a long, long time.
Tap tap tap.
Ruby jolted, then calmed as soon as she realized it was just the restaurant owner rapping his fingers against her table.
"Your brother," the man said, motioning to the half-empty bowl across from her. "He is finished with his lunch?"
"Huh? Oh yeah, he's done," Ruby said with a nod. "I don't think he's gonna finish that."
"But he is coming back, is he not? It is not safe to leave such a pretty girl by herself."
Ruby pulled her hood down over her face to cover her growing blush. "Yeah. He's just buying tickets from the office next door. He'll come back."
I hope, she tried not to add, but the unwelcome thought still popped into her head. It'd been only an hour since he'd woken up and dragged the two of them over to the docks, but aside from telling her where they were going, he'd hardly said a word to her.
Was he mad about last night? Or maybe he knew she'd overheard that last phone call. Maybe he was always this quiet and she was worrying about nothing, but this was Jotaro she was talking about. He was gruff, mean, and if it wasn't for her knowledge about Aura, she was pretty sure he would've left her in that jail cell.
A shadow casts over her. Something cold and wet traces lines over her spine with whispers so quiet, her ears feel empty just listening to it, its fingers drawing close around her throat.
Ruby yelped, the table holding her in place when she tried to shoot to her feet. The chair beneath her tumbled back at the sudden shift in weight, and it would have crushed Jotaro's foot had he not moved away at the last second, leaving Ruby to fall onto the floor.
"What was that for?" she groaned, head ringing loudly.
Jotaro raised an eyebrow. "Just asked if you were done."
"You... you did?"
He hummed, then nodded back to her bowl, knocked over and spilled all over the table. Ruby ducked her head. "Oh. Oops."
"We were leaving, anyway. Don't lose your head over it."
Still, Ruby felt bad about leaving a mess behind. Grabbing a napkin from a nearby table and piling everything back into her bowl, the restaurant owner offered her a thankful wave as the two of them headed for the exit. Ruby couldn't help but smile back.
As soon as they were back on the road, Ruby asked, "Our boat leaves soon, right?"
"We're not taking a boat. Not here, anyway." Scowling, Jotaro waved a dismissive hand back to the docks. "Tickets are too expensive."
"Oh. So... what's the plan now?"
"Dunno. That's what I'm trying to figure out." Suddenly, Jotaro grabbed her by the scruff and pulled her off the ground.
"Hey! Let go of me!" Ruby hissed.
Jotaro did as she said, dropping her right on the edge of the sidewalk. Ruby flung her arms out, wobbled a bit, before she managed to find her footing and balanced herself out.
A car sped past her face, blowing her cloak in the wind and nearly causing her to fall again. Ruby blinked, startled, and she looked up to find that she'd nearly walked into oncoming traffic.
Wait, when did the light change?
"Something's wrong," Jotaro said.
"What's–" Ruby started to ask him, but he was giving her that weird look again. "Oh, you mean–nothing's wrong! I'm fine. I'm just perfectly normal, nothing's wrong with me at all!"
"Normal people don't walk into a red light."
"You do!" Which Jotaro replied with a snort, and Ruby realized her mistake far too late. "I mean, normally you do. Why'd you stop?"
"If you're gonna cross in the middle of a rush, you should know who's gonna stop for you and who isn't. You weren't paying attention. You were gonna get hit."
"And why do you care so much?"
"Because..." Jotaro said and he leaned over so he could lord his height over her. Ruby thought he was doing it to scare her into listening, but when he paused, she had to rethink her stance as well. "I don't."
"What? Then why were you asking me? What was the point of that?"
"Forget I said anything. It's none of my business."
"You were asking me about it! You can't say it's not your business all of a sudden!" Groaning, Ruby hurled her hands up in the air and turned away. "You keep saying you don't care, you keep being mean to me and then you ask if I'm okay? Which is it?!"
"I didn't ask–"
"You said basically the same thing! You can't be both."
Jotaro crossed his arms and leaned against a nearby pole. "Who says I can't? You?"
"It doesn't matter who says it! You're just not supposed to be both!"
"And why do you care so much?"
"Because I want to!"
"That's a stupid excuse."
"It's not an excuse. I'm a huntress. I'm supposed to help people, and part of that is making sure you're okay. I can't do that if you keep being weird like this!"
"Well you're just gonna have to deal with it."
Jotaro narrowed his eyes. Ruby glared right back. Why was he being so stubborn about it? She just wanted to know! Sometimes he was mean, sometimes he wasn't, and she just wanted to know why. It wasn't like she was trying to dig up his deep dark secrets, right?
"I don't give a shit about DIO."
And even if he had secrets, even if he was lying to her, it wasn't like she was trying to get him to tell her the truth, at least not about that. If he was gonna treat her like trash, she deserved an explanation!
Another car came roaring past, and the two of them watched it vanish around the block, momentarily distracted.
"A bus," Jotaro hummed. "That's an idea."
"We're taking a bus to Egypt?" Ruby asked.
"No. It's too far. Although..."
"Although?"
Jotaro glanced back at the docks. "Jeddah is the capital of Saudi Arabia. Lots of people come here, lots of people leave, which means boat trips are always in high demand. If we go anywhere else, though..."
"We could get tickets for a lot cheaper!" Ruby said.
"Yeah. I was getting to that. We find a bus station, we can buy tickets to the nearest port."
"So we just need to find a bus station, right?" Ruby blinked. "Hey! Wait a minute, what about–"
But Jotaro had already turned and slipped into a nearby alleyway, leaving her to choke on his dust.
"Jotaro! Get back here, we're not done!" she yelled, chasing after him.
I guess he really does hate me, she thought with a scowl. I saved his life, he beat two Stand users together, and he doesn't even want to tell me why he's so mean. He's just... just the worst!
But he was hurt, heck, he was still hurting, and if Ruby wanted to be a huntress that she could be proud of, she was gonna have to help him, whether she liked it or not.
Even if it was the most unfun thing in the world to stick with a guy who couldn't trust her at all.
Ruby Rose was an idiot.
Of course, that wasn't something Jotaro could really blame her for. People were just the way they were because of the stuff that happened to them. She'd likely never experienced the things he had, hardships and all, so if she saw things differently then it was because that was just how things were.
What he could blame her for was how she was acting right now, still trying to stick her nose in his business even when he'd told her over and over that she was wasting her damn time. Who the hell cared about why he did what he did? He was how he was. Not like any amount of talking could change that. His mom had tried. Look how that ended up for her.
Maybe if I cared a bit more, she would've actually told us what the hell was going on before it bit her in the ass, he thought with a scowl.
Nearby, a baby burst into tears. Jotaro ground his teeth into fine dust, doing his best not to snap as the man behind him rocked his stroller back and forth in an effort to calm it down. It probably would've made things worse, anyways–kids were stupid like that–but it would have helped him feel a lot better about himself. God knows how much he needed that right now.
That they'd been stuck in this damn line for the past half hour certainly didn't help things. He'd bought them the first tickets to the closest city, and already he was regretting his decision. The place was dry, the sun was bright, and sand clung to his tongue every time he sucked in a breath. He couldn't even step anywhere without bumping into another person.
"What the hell is taking them so long?" he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else.
"I think something's wrong with the bus driver," Ruby said from behind him.
"No shit. You think I didn't see them dragging him out ten minutes ago? I'm just wondering why the hell they haven't bothered to replace him."
"Oh. Maybe they're short-staffed?"
"In the middle of the day? Don't make excuses for them, they can do it themselves just fine."
Which, of course, they hadn't even bothered to do, leaving them with fuck all while they waited for things to get moving. Any other day, Jotaro would just sulk off, but any other day, the only thing he had to worry about was getting home before dark.
First the plane, then this? If his luck wasn't already exceedingly awful, then he'd have said that someone was out to make him miserable.
If this was an enemy Stand, they're taking a hell of a long time to show themselves, Jotaro thought. No way any of DIO's minions would take this long to reveal themselves. If they were really trying to kill me, they'd be the first to let me know.
"You're really worried about getting to Egypt, huh?" Ruby asked.
"What the hell gave it away?" Jotaro replied.
"I'm not just saying it! Just... why do you care so much?"
"Because DIO's gonna take over the world if we don't get there in time. I thought I told you."
"Yeah but... how is he gonna do that? Do you know?"
Jotaro narrowed his eyes. As a matter of a fact, he didn't. Gramps had told him all the time DIO was gonna take over the world. That he hired a bunch of lunatics to kill him and his friends before they could stop him was proof enough that his gramps wasn't lying, but he'd never bothered to ask for the details. He figured they'd never be important as long as DIO died. Wasn't that just coming back to kick him in the teeth?
But that's not what had him the most worried. Ruby never really cared about the details before, either. Why was she asking now? Did she think he was lying? Jotaro couldn't think of anything she might've heard that would've led her to think so, but like he'd said, she was an idiot. Who knew what was going on in that empty head of hers.
"It's not important," Jotaro said. "Only thing that matters is that we get there, and that we kick his shit in."
"I mean... yeah... but I was just asking cause... maybe I kinda want to know if there's anything important we should be looking out for when we get there. Like a vampire army or something."
"What's it to you? You trying to figure out if I'm bullshitting you?"
"No no no, that's not it, I'm just... vampires can't be real, right? I mean, I guess that's a dumb thing to say. There's Stands, those are definitely real, but you said that we're trying to stop a vampire from taking over the world and that's... I dunno, even for me that's a little hard to believe."
It wasn't every day someone tried to deceive him. Most people were smart enough to know he wouldn't take to it kindly. Ruby was not most people.
Jotaro was not in the mood. He didn't need this shit right now, so he folded his arms across his chest and glared down at her. "Spit it out. You want to say something, say it to my face."
Ruby fidgeted and played with her skirt in that way he'd noticed she always did when she didn't want to do something, before she finally said, "Back in the capital–"
"Which one?"
"The last one! Um... before our flight here. I maybe... sorta lied."
She had? And more importantly, he hadn't noticed? Scowling, Jotaro combed a hand through his hair and thought, The hell's wrong with me? How could I be stupid enough to let her get anything past me? I need to get my shit together.
"About what?" he asked.
"About listening. I heard you say something about DIO," Ruby said. "Is it true?"
"Depends. What'd you hear?"
"That you don't care about DIO!"
Jotaro grimaced. Oh. That. Yeah, it was true, but it wasn't like he could say that to her, could he? Ruby was a superhero or a huntress or whatever. She was the kind of person who'd save scumbags because she wanted to. If he pissed her off...
"I'm still trying to stop him, aren't I?" Jotaro said. "Why I do what I do is none of your business."
"Then what is my business? You keep saying it's none of my business because you don't want to say anything. You can't keep saying that! I want to know!"
"It's my shit. You don't get to demand that from me."
"And you don't have to be so mean about it, you jerk!"
Jotaro's eye twitched. Just where the hell does she get the nerve? Does she get off on stepping into other people's business? I may be an asshole, but I'm an asshole who can clean up his own mess. Anyone else would get that. Why the hell can't you?
Vaguely, he was aware that he was getting riled up way more than he should be. The girls back home were annoying too. They constantly pestered him for his attention because they had nothing better to do, but even they weren't this excessive in their needling and digging.
Jotaro opened his mouth to snap back. Something struck him in the back of his head before he could. Now, Jotaro knew he was built well. His mother had even sometimes gone as far as to call him strong. A single hit would not normally be able to knock him off his feet, even without Star Platinum and his Aura, but he'd been so focused on Ruby that he'd been taken completely by surprise.
Stars scattered in front of his eyes. The world swayed. Ruby squawked in surprise as he suddenly fell over her. Her arms wrapped around his stomach, and before he could stop her, she wrapped her hands around his chest, leaving the rest of his body to sag over her.
Jesus, he thought, his chest pressing down on the top of her head. I knew she was short, but was she always this short?
Ruby shoved him off before he could linger any more on it. At least he'd managed to collect himself enough to stand upright this time, clutching his head as he wobbled in place for a bit. It still took a bit of effort to find his feet–enough that he almost missed her mumbled "Sorry."
Not that it was her fault at all. If anything, she should've been pissed. That was fine. Jotaro could be pissed enough for the both of them, and he leveled a glare at the person in line before them.
The person, a short, round man in a suit, rolled his eyes.
"If you are going to have a spat, please do it where no one has to see you," the man said. "You young people have no respect for public decency!"
"And why the hell is it your business what we get up to?" Jotaro snarled back. "You don't want to hear? Don't listen."
If looks could kill, the man could've probably nicked his toe. He made no effort to hide his contempt, not in the way his eyes lingered on them, not in the way he huffed as he turned away. Jotaro felt like he could empathize. He'd have loved nothing more than to slug the man across the face, but then Ruby would get mad and he'd rather not have to deal with her whining for the rest of the journey.
Piece of shit, he thought.
"What did you say?"
Suddenly, the man snapped back to them, face red with rage. Jotaro blinked. Did I say that loud?
Mayne the trip was finally taking its toll on him. Ruby gave him a nervous look. She probably thought he was gonna bite back, like he did whenever they argued. Jotaro snorted. He may have been impulsive, but he wasn't stupid.
"Like I said, if you don't want to hear shit, don't listen," Jotaro said.
"I will not. You think you can insult me and get away with it? Do you know who I am?"
"Is it a problem if I say no?"
"It is no excuse! I am your elder, you must respect me!"
If that were even remotely true, maybe Ruby wouldn't be so hard to handle.
Shaking the thought out of his head, Jotaro huffed. "If you're so important, don't you have better things to do than give me the piss?"
"Teaching you a lesson will take no time at all." The man reached back and slapped him across the face. This time, Jotaro was expecting it, and the blow glanced harmlessly off his Aura. He could've snapped the man's arm in half in seven different ways, only 2 of them involving Star Platinum. It was tempting to try–so very tempting–but as Jotaro watched, a man walked out of the bus station and climbed into the driver's seat of the bus they were waiting for.
"Oi, Ruby," he said. "Wake up. We're leaving."
Ruby sputtered, wide-eyed and awake in seconds. "Huh? What do you mean? I wasn't sleeping, nope, not at all!"
"You were about to."
"Hey! Are you ignoring me? I am talking to you!" the man screeched.
"Not my fault you've got nothing worth listening to," Jotaro replied.
"Um, I don't think he was talking to you." Slowly, Ruby raised to point over his shoulder. "He was talking to him."
Jotaro followed her gaze to the uniformed man staring at them from outside of the line, arms crossed and baton in his hands.
"Officer," he said, scowling harder. "You're standing awfully close for someone who's got no business here."
The officer met Jotaro's glare head on and clenched his baton. "This gentleman called me over, so I believe I have plenty of business being here. Please leave."
"You're asking us to leave?"
"I am. This gentleman has told me you are bothering him, so I'm asking you to leave."
Jotaro glanced at the man. The man puffed out his chest and grinned back. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath. "He's the one who started it. Why should I leave?"
Looking him up and down, the officer huffed. Jotaro knew the words he was going to say before he opened his mouth. "Looking like that, you must've done something to deserve it."
"Look here, this–"
"Leave."
"I said, this–"
"Go."
"This piece of shit–"
The officer raised his baton, his eyebrow with it. So much for keeping it civil, Jotaro thought. If this scumbag needs to be taught respect, I–
"Jotaro!"
Ruby's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, her hand fixed to his elbow. Jotaro's brows furrowed. He tried to tug free, but Ruby's grip only tightened.
"You can't be serious," he hissed. "You're standing up for this guy?"
"I'm sure he doesn't mean it..."
"I'm just making sure." Again, Jotaro tried to free himself. Ruby refused to budge. Jotaro scoffed. "Let me go, you bitch."
"Is there a problem?" the officer said, tapping his baton against his other hand.
Jotaro glanced at him, then at Ruby. They were already making enough of a scene as it was. Really, he could've still beat 'em up with Star Platinum, but with the glare Ruby was giving him, she was gonna get fussy if he did. Plus, it wasn't like either of these guys were Stand users. A punch from Star Platinum could go straight through their skulls if he wasn't careful, and he wasn't in the mood to be careful right now.
"No," he spat out. "We're leaving."
Tearing his arm out of Ruby's grasp, Jotaro stomped out of line and toward the door, the man and the officer glaring daggers into his back. He could hear Ruby sputter out a string of apologies as she scrambled after him. Not at him, of course, but at the assholes who'd kicked them out.
Ruby Rose was an idiot, that much he was certain. But that didn't mean she couldn't get in his way if she really wanted to. This couldn't stay like this forever. Something would have to give, and Jotaro really hoped it wasn't him.
As he passed by the other people waiting in line, someone brushed his shoulder. It wasn't a hard thing–not hard enough that he knew it was intentional, anyway, but he still glanced over to see who'd been careless enough to touch him. It had been a man standing in line, the one with the stroller. Though, now that Jotaro had a chance to really look at him, for a reason he couldn't quite place, he looked strangely familiar. That distant look in his eyes, the cloth wrapped around his head, the slightest twitch in his fingers... it was almost like...
"Out with you!" the uniformed man shouted at him. "Go on."
Jotaro looked away long enough to shoot the officer a scowl. When he looked back, the man had already turned his back.
No, it couldn't be. He must've imagined it.
This was the fifth time Jotaro had counted through the money he had in his wallet, flicking through them one by one to see if they were all really there. At least, Ruby thought it was the fifth. She'd only really started keeping track the third time he'd done it, when she noticed he was doing it over and over again.
"So..." Ruby said, leaning over to get a better look from the bench they were sitting on, "Is something wrong?"
"There's only 228.56 riyals in here." He paused. "That's the Saudi currency."
"Oh no! Did we lose money somewhere?"
"No. It's exactly how much I expected we'd have."
"Oh. That's... good? No, it's bad, right? Um... how is it bad?"
Jotaro sighed. "I don't know if we've got enough to get us across the Red Sea. Not after buying another set of bus tickets, anyway."
After you dragged us out of line, he didn't say, but Ruby could read the angry expression on his face well enough.
"Oh." Ruby winced. "Well... there's got to be another way across! Is there?"
"If you can think of any, let me know. A boat ticket's already pricey enough. Two of 'em? Not a chance in hell. Although..."
"Although?"
A look flashed across Jotaro's face, like he was considering something. Ruby had a sinking feeling she wouldn't like it. Before he had a chance to speak, she said, "No way! You're not leaving me behind. You... weren't gonna leave me behind. Right?"
"I dunno. I thought you hated my guts."
"I...don't hate you."
"So you say."
"I don't! I really don't! You're mean and I don't like that, but..." But you're all I've got left sounded sad, even for her, so instead she said, "If I'm not around, you're gonna get yourself arrested!"
"That why you dragged me out of line?" Jotaro said, crossing his arms. Ruby didn't need to be a genius to tell he was still mad about that.
Saying it like that made it sound a lot less selfish than it actually was. Ruby had only dragged him away because it would've attracted a lot of attention to them, and right now that was the last thing she wanted.
"Yep," she said. "That's exactly why."
"You're lying."
Ruby flinched. Of course he'd see right through her. She wasn't nearly good enough to get away with lying to Jotaro–she'd just hoped he'd ignore it like he usually did. That he didn't worried her. Why was he suddenly so curious? What if he started caring about all the other stuff she said?
"How are you so sure?" Ruby asked. Even as she looked away, she could feel Jotaro's eyes carve lines through his skin.
"Because if you did, that'd mean you actually give a shit about me."
"I do too care about you! I saved your butt! Three times!"
"In a fight. That's not the same."
"That doesn't make it any less important! Ugh, I was helping you! Can't you at least be thankful?"
Jotaro snorted. "Help? I don't need your help. I could've handled those assholes by myself." The bench, a sturdy thing made of wood and steel, creaked under Jotaro's weight as he pushed off it and began to stroll down the street. Ruby jumped up to follow, for a moment worried that maybe she'd said something wrong.
"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"
"To find a solution to our transportation problem, what else?" Jotaro said, straightening the collar of his long black coat. "Maybe something's gonna come to me."
"Oh."
A truck came roaring past them. A group of kids ran laughing and howling through their legs, one of them stopping to duck under Ruby's cape before wriggling out of reach. Behind them, a pair of women, garbed in black fabric that covered their entire bodies, stormed after, shouting in a language Ruby couldn't understand at the fleeing children. The walk light flickered on nearby, and Ruby barely had the time to duck away before a crowd of people rushed off the street and onto the sidewalk. She might have lost Jotaro in the throng of bodies had she not grabbed onto his sleeve.
As soon as they were clear of the crowd, Ruby asked, "Can we walk there?"
"To Egypt?" Jotaro snorted. "That's a hell of a walk."
"We'll still get there. We have Aura! That's like... natural sun protection, right there!"
"Time's not on our side. Walking takes much too long."
"Okay, okay. No walking. No boats... why can't we take a Bullhead like before?"
"You think we can afford plane tickets if we can't even buy boat tickets?"
"What about a car? Maybe we could rent one and drive there!"
"Through such a long stretch of desert? Not a chance."
"...we could swim there?"
Jotaro pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, drawn out groan. Jotaro had groaned lots of times before. Most of the time, it was because he was annoyed. This one sounded a lot more like he was trying not to strangle someone.
"Is something wrong?" Ruby asked, concern written across her face.
"Would it kill you to shut up?" Jotaro hissed past clenched teeth.
"I'm just trying to help."
"And I'm just trying to think. I can't do that if you don't shut the hell up." Tearing his sleeve out of her grasp, Jotaro grabbed Ruby by the shoulders and sat her down on a nearby bench, "If you're not here when I get back, there'll be hell to pay, you understand?"
"Wait wait wait, what?" Ruby jumped to her feet with a growl. "And just where do you think you're going, mister?"
"Away."
"Nuh-uh. You're not getting out of my sight. I've gotta make sure you don't get into any trouble!"
"And just how much trouble could I get into if I'm taking a piss?"
Ruby followed Jotaro's gaze to her left, to the public restroom building beside her. "Oh. Okay... just... be quick!"
"About taking a piss? How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"I dunno. Just do it!"
Jotaro shot her a look halfway between confusion and resignation. If Ruby was being honest, she felt exactly the same, but at least Jotaro had the sense to disappear before she could say anything else. Ruby slumped against the bench as the door slammed shut beside her, kicking her feet against the bench as she waited.
And waited.
She flicked open her scroll. The clock read 10:22am, but Ruby still hadn't adjusted it to this place's timezone, so for all she knew, it could've been 4 in the afternoon and she'd never know.
It can't really take this long to go to the bathroom, can it? she thought. What is he even doing in there?
Again, she checked her scroll. Still 10:22am. She tapped her foot against the floor, watching as a man in a uniform pushed himself between an arguing couple and screamed profanities at both of them. Still nothing. Why did waiting have to be so boring?
The door to the bathroom opened. Ruby hopped to her feet, but the man who walked out was just some random guy in a suit. For a moment, Ruby considered asking him about Jotaro, but... what would she ask? Did you see anyone in there? Yeah, right. He's just gonna think I'm a weirdo.
But as more time passed, her anxiety just kept pooling in her stomach. Maybe he was just washing his hands. Maybe he'd gone in for one thing, then realized he needed to do the other thing once he was done. Maybe he had gotten attacked. Maybe he was dead. Or maybe... he'd finally gotten sick of her and left!
Ruby leaned forward glanced left and right. There were lots of people here, walking up and down the street, but everyone had their own stuff to do and no one was watching her. If she snuck in, maybe no one would notice?
No no no, she thought, shaking her head. I can't go into the men's room. That's weird! I'm not a weirdo.
But as she waited and waited and watched the clock on her scroll tick down, her nerves kept eating away at her until she finally took a deep breath, glanced both ways, then, as soon as she was sure the coast was clear, slipped into the bathroom.
Ruby had heard plenty of times from Jaune how messy guy bathrooms could be. All things considered, this one was fairly clean. Maybe the people in this city took care of their bathrooms, or maybe no one ever went here because it was so far from any of the important places in the city. There wasn't a single tile out of place, no sign that anyone had been here, save for the faint sound of flushing from an open stall. No Jotaro, too.
So he had left her! That jerk!
It wasn't like there was anywhere to go. The bathroom only had one exit, and it wasn't like he could've escaped down the toilet. Ruby scanned around for any windows, but as she did, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a nearby mirror.
Is... is that me? she thought, tracing the dark bags under her bloodshot eyes, her gaze lingering on the mess of hair sat atop her head. Oh. Oh wow. I look so... tired. And like I haven't taken a bath in a week.
The bath thing wasn't that worrying. With everything that had happened to her, she hadn't had time to really think about it, but she'd just stayed up for one night. Surely that wouldn't be enough to get her looking like... like this!
She was sure Yang would have something to say about her all-nighter, and even she wasn't too keen to admit that she'd done it to avoid the bad dreams, but right now she wanted to deal with one problem at a time.
I guess if there's one good thing that's come out of this, it's that I'll have to get used to this sort of stuff when I'm a real huntress, she thought. I know people sometimes get bad dreams when they're super stressed. If I can handle stuff like this, then I'll be ready for huntress duty in no time!
Not that she was doing a very good job at that right now, but, again, one problem at a time. Ruby splashed a bit of water onto her face, just so she felt a little more awake.
The cold feeling is sudden, sharp. More than enough to jolt feeling back into her skin as the water trickles down her cheeks, down her nose. She lifts her hands and looks again just in time to catch a flicker of black disappear into the window behind her.
Ruby swirled around. Jotaro? No, it couldn't be. The bathroom was empty when she left. Curious, Ruby walked up to the window and tried to reach it. She wasn't nearly tall enough to reach it from the ground, but if she jumped up onto the sink...
Ruby tumbled from the window and landed in a heap of trash with a yelp. Food wrappers and wet paper towels smeared against her dress, and she'd started picking a bunch of ripped pages out of her hair when she noticed Jotaro emerge from a nearby convenience store, a small packet grasped tightly in his hands. She opened her mouth to call out to him. A dark shadow stepped in front of her before she could.
Ruby froze. Her hand fell to Crescent Rose, still safely tucked away under her cloak. A moment was all it would take to pull it out and defend herself. Sure, no one had Aura here, and she was gonna hurt someone if she wasn't careful, but Ruby had already nearly died enough times this week.
Before she could do anything, the figure walked away. Ruby's shoulders slumped, and she sighed. They hadn't noticed her. That was good. She didn't even know if they were after her, or if they were gonna attack her at all.
Ruby gathered herself and hopped to her feet. She noticed Jotaro turn into a nearby alleyway and opened her mouth to catch his attention. The figure turned into the same alley before she could.
Were they following Jotaro? That... was less good. Keeping a hand clasped to Crescent Rose, Ruby ducked after them, taking great care to avoid the bits of debris littered over the floor.
Jotaro was being tailed. So what? She was sure Jotaro wouldn't care if she helped or not. Maybe he'd even get mad at her, like he did last time. He hated it when she helped him.
Then the knife came out, and all bets were off.
"Watch out!" Ruby yelled, and she tackled the figure to the floor.
Jotaro whirled on her in an instant, his face ablaze. "The hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed, just like Ruby had predicted.
"I'm saving you, dummy!"
"I don't need saving, I–"
Suddenly, four more men jumped out of the shadows, knives raised high. "Get them!"
The cramped alleyway lit up in a flash, sparks of steel against Aura falling to the floor. Ruby blocked an overhead strike with Crescent Rose, even as she unfurled in a whir of mechanical parts.
Ruby could tell something was off the moment she took the first swing. Though she was only fifteen years old, she'd been fighting for a long, long time. Every move she made was honed instinct, every shot pure intuition, and she could tell as she hooked a cloaked assailant and slammed him through the wall that she was slower than usual.
Another figure ducked under a wild horizontal slice and buried the blade of their knife between her ribs. Ruby's Aura shielded her from taking any physical damage, but nothing could've saved her pride from the blow. She should've been able to dodge that easily.
Ruby swung Crescent Rose's haft across the man's face before he could consider pulling back. As the man crumpled to the floor, out like a light, she turned to the third one. The man drew his arm back. It took her a moment to see the crowbar in his hand, then another to realize he was swinging at her. Ruby hurled herself to the side. The man snatched her by the collar before she could get out of reach and slammed her into a wall.
"That's what you get, brat!" he hissed.
As much as Ruby would've liked to say something back, she couldn't say much with her face smooshed to the wall, so she replied the only way she could–an elbow to the gut. The man's eyes bulged. His legs trembled for a moment, then he fell to his knees, blood bubbling from his lips as he fought to catch his breath. Ruby backed off to catch her own, before she lunged again, Crescent Rose drawn back to finish the job.
"ORA!"
Ruby's eyes widened as the world burst into stars. One moment, she was in front of the man, the next, she tumbled head over heels into a wall behind. Groaning, she picked herself off the ground just in time to see the man's face slam into the ground, Jotaro standing over him with his hands in his pockets. Behind him, she could see that he'd already dealt with the fourth, his legs dangling through a broken window.
"What was that for?" Ruby said.
"You got in my way," Jotaro replied. "As far as I'm concerned, you got what was coming."
"What was coming? I was trying to help you, idiot!"
"And I told you to mind your own business. You keep trying to stick your nose where it doesn't belong, and you're gonna get hurt."
"If not getting hurt means not helping then that's just not me."
Jotaro growled. "Then what the hell is gonna get you to stop? How the hell am I supposed to–"
Someone jumped out into the alley from behind Jotaro, the barrel of their gun raised. Jotaro had probably already noticed. There wasn't a single thing he ever missed. The thought crossed Ruby's mind as she shoved him out of the way, but she still hurled herself in front of him, arms raised to shield him.
Her Aura should've protected her from the shot.
Instead, the bullet punched right through her shoulder.
Happy New Year, everyone!
Yeah, I know it's been 2 months. Really sorry about that, I completely forgot about it for a hot minute. Out of all the arcs, I never expected Death 13 to be the hardest to write, but as it turns out, fighting the pacing is more counterintuitive than I realized.
Anyway, what a year it's been! I really have wanted to write this story since 2020, and being able to actually write it has made this year such a blast! Big thanks to all who've stopped by and read, it really means a lot to me, knowing that people do like reading what I write. I'll do my best to write better this year so you all will know just how much I appreciate your time!
This week's fic recommendation is "The Ballad of Joseph Joestar." It's got nothing to do with the holidays, other than just being really sweet, but there are worse ways to start the year.
Please do leave reviews/comments, knowing what people think about what I do helps me know just what is it I should do better. Until next time, stay safe out there, and use the coming year to the best of your ability!