Butterfly Effect
As promised, here is a short bonus omake chapter, published quickly.
I do not own JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Chapter 27.5: The Police
Angelo's actions really messed up the Higashikata family residence. Josuke had to repair and clean up many things. A lot of water damage happened, which the boy was forced to mend.
This is why the reunion with his mom and grandpa had to wait until the next day, when the house was made livable again.
Kakyoin was the one who brought them home, just like he was the one who had evacuated them. He dropped them off in front of the driveway and then left, going back to the hotel.
Josuke had eagerly been waiting to see them again. Their peaceful life had briefly been disrupted, but they were whole again, with no one missing.
"Ahh, it's so refreshing to be home." Ryohei yawned, opening the door and walking inside.
On the other side of the door, his grandson stood, with soft eyes and a grateful thin smile. Because of Angelo, the two weren't able to embrace and comfort one another immediately after the revival. But now there was nothing in the way.
"Grampa…" the teen softly uttered, tears building up in the corners of his eyes.
"Josuke…" the senior responded, eyes shiny but not to the extent of the former.
Making the first move, Josuke rushed forward, hugging his grandfather tightly. The pent-up emotions from yesterday were going to be released.
"You're alive! You're alive! Thank God!"
Tears ran down his cheeks, though his voice was stable. Instead, he pressed his teeth together and squinted his eyes shut.
"I am, my boy, I am…" the grandparent consoled him, gently caressing the back of the boy hugging him.
"I- It was my fault! I was being careless, stopped watching him. That's why it happened to you. I'm so, so sorry!" Josuke relentlessly apologized, disclosing his feelings of guilt. He didn't just blame Angelo, he also blamed himself.
"No, no, you're too hard on yourself." the policeman disagreed, trying to ease the emotional burden of the teen. "Kakyoin-san told me about everything. About Stands, the Speedwagon Foundation, why they came here, and… about Angelo. He's a very deceptive snake, a devil in human flesh even. Only a professional can handle someone like him, so don't put the blame on yourself."
"But… if not for Kakyoin-san, then-"
"Look… you're just a kid who's never fought another Stand user before, and he's an evil and dangerous criminal with decades of experience. If I'd died, I wouldn't have wanted you to carry that guilt." Ryohei made it clear, wanting Josuke to not be too harsh on himself. "I want you to be strong and happy, not miserable."
After the two slowly stopped hugging, their eyes locked with the other's. The younger one's expressed regret and sadness, while the elder one's expressed nothing but encouragement.
"About that… I've decided to become stronger. Stronger so that I can protect this town and its people." Josuke told, in direct reaction to the encouragement of his grandfather. He'd made up his mind after the incident with Angelo the day before. "So that I can protect my family, mom and you from dangers like Angelo."
"Well, that's excellent to hear. I fully believe in you, Josuke." the old man smiled, closing his eyes. Behind those closed eyes were genuine happiness, but also fear. The Higashikata patriarch was scared thinking about the emotional damage inflicted on his daughter if he'd actually died. He was scared to think about the increasing household burden with his monthly earnings gone. Though ultimately, he wasn't too frightened, because he knew he'd have to leave his family behind and 'pass on' eventually. That part was inevitable. "As long as I'm still here, I'll give you all the guidance you'll need."
"Sounds really reassuring…" Josuke said, rubbing the back of his head. He was moved by his old man's caring words.
For the next half minute, the two looked at each other with gentle expressions, appreciating and being grateful of existing. They were grateful to be related, to be close family.
"Anyway, are you perfectly fine? Are there any differences to your body?" Josuke kindly asked, breaking the silence.
"Actually, there is one." Ryohei answered, briefly worrying Josuke before grinning. "It's a positive one."
"What is it?" Josuke was curious about that.
"Heh… TADAA!"
Officer Higashikata, now a Stand user just like his grandson, proudly presented his new Stand: A rotating white-gray plate with two emergency light beacons mounted on it, red and blue.
"YOU'RE A STAND USER?!" the pompadour blurted out in surprise, eyes and mouth opening widely. Josuke was weirded out a lot. Not just because of this revelation alone, but also because of the type of that Stand. He could feel Stand energy, thus it was clear that it was a Stand, but it wasn't humanoid like the other Stands he'd seen so far.
"Apparently, I've gained it after coming back to life. Kakyoin-san said it must've happened because of this unusual event with my soul. He also told me I've got a powerful spirit, since it's very unusual for a soul to return to a dead body." Mr. Higashikata explained, proudly mentioning the praise he'd gotten from the former crusader.
"I see..." Josuke mumbled, nodding once. That made sense to him. "But what's with that shape? And what does it do?"
"Kakyoin-san said it was an object type Stand. He said most Stands appear humanoid, but there's a significant minority that don't." the old man stated. "As for what it does, it detects malicious, harmful intent and people feeling threatened within a certain area. Kakyoin-san was nice enough to do some experiments with me so I could find out what my Stand is capable of."
"That's neat." the teen approved, giving his old man a thumbs up.
"I've named it [The Police]" Officer Higashikata proudly informed, beaming with old man glee.
"Pfffft!" Josuke laughed, covering the corner of his mouth with the side of a loosely gripped fist. "What a boring, uncreative name!"
"Oh yeah? What's your Stand called then, Mr. cool guy?" The policeman was offended.
"[Crazy Diamond]" Josuke said, manifesting it after realizing he hadn't shown it to his grandpa yet. "Though it was Jotaro-san who named it."
After staring with amazement at that tall and muscular specimen for about 10 seconds with a hanging jaw, Ryohei asked another question. "Impressive… What does that stand for?"
"'Diamond' for how its fists are hard enough to break diamond, 'Crazy' for…" The excentric teenager hesitated with the second part, knowing Jotaro meant to describe him in that way. It was awkward.
"You." the grandfather finished, lightly joking about his grandson.
"Argh, stop it! That's embarrassing!" Josuke demanded, his face going red.
"…And I love you for it."
"Smooth."
Both of them felt blessed, being able to share so many emotions and click so well with each other. Once more, they looked at one another's faces with warm expressions and nice silence.
"Josuke, do you want to go outside for a walk, maybe grab a bite?" the old man suggested, changing the topic.
"Yes, good thing you brought that up. Actually, there's something I HAVE to show you." the pompadour rapidly accepted, taking the initiative himself. "Follow me."
"Sure."
With that, the Higashikata men left the house, taking a little trip.
XXXXXXXXXX
Following a short and relaxed walk, the two arrived at their destination: A place where Josuke stood less than a day ago.
"Do you notice anything different?"
"Yes, that weird looking rock didn't used to be here before." Ryohei spoke, pointing with his right index finger at what is now referred to as the 'Angelo Rock'.
'Oh no, not them! I don't want to see 'em!'
"He sure is weird looking." Josuke commented, cheekily smirking.
"'He'?" Officer Higashikata repeated, raising a brow in confusion.
"Believe it or not, that rock is Angelo." The pompadour finally revealed, his smirk growing wider. "I sculpted him into this shape."
'I'll curse you forever, Higashikata Josuke…'
"Haa?!" the policeman let out in disbelief, eyes widening. "You're joking, right?"
"No, I'm not." the delinquent teen assured, grinning all the way. "[Crazy Diamond] can break down matter into really tiny components and put them back together. Thing is, I don't HAVE to reform that matter into its original state. My Stand can also deform things, or fuse things together."
Ryohei sweatdropped. That was one hell of a power. And his grandson was crazy for that. "So you weren't joking…"
"I wasn't." Josuke nodded. "He can still watch and listen, but he can't talk by the way. Wanna say something to him?"
The old man narrowed his eyes hearing that, assuming a serious demeanor. Angelo, real name being Katagiri Anjuro, was an old acquaintance. One that he wasn't proud of knowing, but proud of having arrested. To Angelo, that menace and threat to society, the Higashikata patriarch had to give him a piece of his mind. With firm steps, the senior policeman approached the rock criminal until he was directly in front of him, looking down on his face resembling modern art.
'Couldn't stay dead, huh?! You old fuck!'
"So you're really Angelo…" Officer Higashikata muttered with pure distaste, a stern look in his eyes. "I remember telling you to never do crime again after first arresting you many, many years ago. But you didn't listen, and on the contrary, became a murderer monster and were sentenced to death. I say that's fully deserved."
'STOP LECTURING ME!'
"And yesterday, you attempted to kill me. You succeeded, but failed at the same time. Then you tried to kill my grandson too, and look what he did to you! Look what's happened to you because of your actions! How does that feel?" Ryohei energetically but not too loudly laid down the facts to the now literally hardened criminal.
'GRRRR Fuck you! The most irritating family ever!'
"Now you're stuck in this rock, unable to do any more harm to innocents for the rest of your miserable life. I bet that boredom and inability of you to do anything must feel terrifying." he continued, not changing his expression or attitude except for the very end. "Serves you right. You don't even deserve pity. Have fun with your current life sentence worse than the death penalty, you utterly repulsive, defective human."
Having said that, he turned around and walked back towards Josuke.
"Boy, I needed to get that off my chest." he remarked, his voice and expression softening slightly. "Josuke, how about we go somewhere else?"
"Sure."
Done. This chapter is basically just two things. One being the emotional reunion between Josuke and his granddad that's necessary because the latter survived. I can't just 'move on' with no dialogue between them at all. The other one being alive Ryohei reacting to the Angelo Rock.
As for this new original Stand, I created it for that to be useful later on. It also perfectly fits Mr. Higashikata, since he's a patrolling local town officer who wants to prevent crime. The effective range is just about a circle with Morioh's diameter.
Feel free to rate and review if you like to
