At the police station, Joel, Daniela, and the detained trafficker are walking calmly guided by Joel.
Daniela walks as if she were on a catwalk, drawing the attention due to her beauty and eccentricity. She smiles: "So, JoJo, where's this 'Mesquita' you were talking about?"
Joel sighs, holding back his anger: "We're going to talk to him. Just chill, Dea."
She laughs and teases: "So now you've accepted calling me 'DEA' so much that you're even calling me that outside work, huh?" She places her hand on her hips and strikes a small pose as she playfully asserts: "I'm flattered that you really think I'm a goddess."
He rolls his eyes: "Fucking grief. I'm only calling you that because it's easier than calling your name all the time. Besides, I call my officers by their numbers and codenames all the time, so don't think it's anything special."
Daniela sarcastically waves her hand: "Uh-huh, sure, but are you certain about what you're saying? Don't forget, I can feel your little heart racing right now."
"That's called anger. Now, let's go before I kill you right here and now."
She rolls her eyes: "You're too boring! Can't even joke around."
Joel sighs and keeps walking.
After some time, they arrive at Sergeant Mesquita's office. Joel opens the door, and they see an overly muscular man apparently in his 30s organizing paperwork behind the desk.
The man sighs and mutters: "Saudoso, I swear if you try to introduce another one of those 'funks' to me, I'll strangle you!" He turns and, upon seeing Joel, a grin spreads across his face: "HA HA! Joel, my boy!"
Joel nods and offers a handshake: "Hey, Mesquita."
Mesquita looks at Joel's hand and laughs: "A handshake is worth nothing, come here and give me a hug, damn it!" Mesquita hugs Joel tightly: "Man, it's been ages since I've seen you. Where've you been? I thought you might've died on a mission! How are you?"
Joel sighs and chuckles: "Thanks Mesquita... I'm fine..."
Daniela smiles and laughs at the sight, resuming her mocking stance: "My goodness, I had no idea you had a cheerful side, JoJo."
Joel simply sighs and clenches his fists. When Mesquita notices Daniela, he lets go of Joel and looks at him excitedly: "So, Joel, who's this beauty?"
Joel rolls his eyes and straightens his posture: "Ahem. Mesquita, this is Daniela, she'll be my ally until the priest arrives."
Mesquita looks excited: "Haha! Man, you're lucky! How'd you land a Greek goddess as an ally?" He moves closer to Daniela: "Are you sent from heaven, cutie?"
Daniela giggles and approaches Mesquita: "Wow, you have a sharp eye for goddesses, mister."
Joel sighs and covers his face with his hand: "Damn it, have some patience... stop hitting on my allies, you old pervert."
Daniela raises an eyebrow: "'Old'? He doesn't look that old. Around 35 or 36?"
Mesquita shakes his head: "Way off. I'm already in my 60s."
Daniela is taken aback and steps back: "... Wow, you haven't aged that much. I'm impressed. Are you sure you're human?"
Mesquita laughs: "Obviously! If I weren't human, what would I be? A chimp? HA!"
Daniela looks umpleased by Mesquita's joke.
Joel quickly changes the subject: "Anyway, we're here to hand over this guy." He points to Bernardo. "A Stand user. I managed to convince him to agree with the rehab. His Stand's ability is to make himself undetectable by most things."
The old man rubs his chin, thinking: "Hmm... a Stand with a fairly powerful tactical ability... interesting." He turns to Bernardo: "Alright, buddy, do me a favor: go down the hall and into the fourth room on the right. I'll be there soon, I just need to talk to Joel and Daniela for a bit."
Bernardo nods and leaves the room. Mesquita looks directly at Joel and Daniela: "So... since she's your ally, what's her Stand ability?"
"None. She doesn't have a Stand."
Mesquita is shocked and looks at Joel in disbelief: "Wait, she doesn't have a Stand?! So you allied yourself with a regular person?!"
"Good joke, but I'm not crazy enough to do that. She's not a regular person, she's a vampire."
Daniela smiles, showing her fangs as her eyes gleam red.
Mesquita holds his cheeks in shock and yells: "OH MY GOD!" He approaches Daniela and looks at her in admiration: "Is that true?! You're a vampire?! Do you age?! Are you a vampire like in Twilight or like in Blade?!"
Daniela laughs. She looks at Joel and smiles happily: "I liked this guy!" She turns back to Mesquita: "Well, I'm indeed a vampire, I don't age, and I don't sparkle in the sun like in Twilight, don't worry."
Mesquita laughs: "Well, Joel's already introduced you to me, but I'd like to introduce myself," and offers a handshake: "My name's Mesquita Arthur Zeppeli, but I go by Mesquita. And what's the full name of the lovely lady I'm speaking to?"
Daniela laughs and replies playfully: "Wow, what a gentleman." She glances over her shoulder and jokingly declares: "Much more polite than my captain."
Joel shakes his head in disapproval: "Get lost."
She laughs again and looks back at Mesquita: "Daniela Brando. Nice name, by the way, is it Italian?"
Mesquita laughs: "Well, my father was a womanizing Italian, and my mother was a traveling Brazilian."
"Well, not too different from me. My father was... something, and my mother was Brazilian." She smiles and accepts the handshake.
As their hands meet, Daniela feels a strong shock and burning sensation, quickly pulling her hand back with a slight yelp of pain.
She grabs her injured hand and massages it carefully, looking at Mesquita in surprise: "... Was that your Stand ability?"
Mesquita looks surprised and concerned at Daniela: "Uh... actually, no... My Stand has more to do with air, you know?"
She looks at her hand with some fear. Silence settles in the room.
After a few moments, Joel sighs and tries to break the tension: "Well... I think that's it. Introducing Dea to you and handing over the Stand User."
Mesquita coughs and nods, trying to pretend nothing happened: "Alright, sounds good. See you around. It was good seeing you again, Joel. Visit me more often."
Joel nods, says goodbye to Mesquita, and leaves the room with Daniela.
They look at each other, and Joel sighs: "I admit... seeing Mesquita again was really good—"
"Do you trust this guy, JoJo?" Daniela interrupts in a serious tone.
He raises an eyebrow: "Uh... well, yeah. Mesquita took care of me my whole life and was my trainer when I joined the police. He's the father I never had. Why?"
Daniela stares at him for a few seconds and looks at her hand: "... I haven't felt this much pain in years... that guy's not normal. I mean, I'll be fine, I'll regenerate eventually, but I feel this energy from him... and it's strangely familiar. Not to mention, something inside me feels like I should be furious with this... aura of his."
Joel sighs and thinks for a few moments before looking at her: "... If you're feeling unwell, let's go to the hospital."
"... Hospital? I'm a vampire, I can regenerate without medical care."
"I know, but you still need blood to consume, and we can get blood bags from the hospital to stock you up, plus I want to introduce you to someone."
"... Alright, let's go to the hospital then."
At the hospital, Joel approaches the receptionist: "Hey, is Dr. Sakura here?"
The receptionist nods and points a room to them. They follow the directions and enter one of the rooms. Upon entering, they find a short Japanese woman with cherry-red hair, wearing glasses and a white coat with green details, writing something on some papers.
She looks up from the paperwork and sees Joel and Daniela. She sighs: "Joel, you need to learn to knock before entering."
Joel shakes his head: "But you know my team and I have priority, Ms. Sakura."
The doctor rolls her eyes lightheartly: "You've been pretty cocky lately, Joel." She gets up from her chair and approaches them, giving Daniela a good look: "So, new team member?"
"No, just a temporary ally."
Daniela looks at Joel with slight disappointment before resuming her playful posture and dramatically stating: "Wow, so that's what I am to you, JoJo? I thought you were different."
Joel clenches his fists and holds back the urge to punch her.
Sakura holds back a laugh, clearly enjoying Daniela's antics: "… 'JoJo'...? Are you two together or something?"
Joel sighs: "No. Now let's get straight to the point: I need more blood bags."
She raises an eyebrow: "What... so soon? You asked for some last week and now you need more?"
"It's not for me or anyone on my team; it's for her." — He points to Daniela. "To sum it up, she's a vampire and became my ally."
The doctor's eyes widen and she nods: "Vampire, huh? Quite interesting." She extends her hand to Daniela: "My name is Sakura Kakyoin. I'm the official doctor for Stand users. I don't have any abilities myself, but I take care of whoever needs."
Daniela looks at Sakura's hand for a few moments before smiling and accepting the handshake: "Daniela Brando."
They smile at each other until Sakura looks at Joel: "How about you go get the blood bags while Daniela and I get to know each other better? She seems like a very interesting person."
"Alright. Second cabinet on the tenth room to the left?"
Sakura confirms and Joel leaves the room. She then asks Daniela: "I suppose you and Joel clashed, he saw potential in you, and made you his ally?"
Daniela laughs: "Almost. I won, helped him regenerate, he saw potential in me, there was some chemistry, and he made me his ally."
Sakura laughs: "Hard to 'create chemistry' with Joel, but if you say so…"
They laugh briefly before Daniela asks, "So, what's your story? How did you meet Joel and become a doctor for Stand users?"
Sakura pauses and replies, "I was born in Japan. My brother named me Sakura because he used to love cherries... He was a Stand user and asked me to keep it secret. That's how I know about Stands."
Daniela, intrigued, asks, "Your brother was a Stand user? How's he doing?"
Sakura sighs, "He went for a trip to Egypt, but when he came back he was... different... cold and angry, and then disappeared some months later. Fifty days later, we were told he had died with a hole in his chest... I'm absolutely certain it was a Stand attack. His death drove me to become a doctor, to help others." After a pause, she adds, "I finished medical school early and came to Brazil, where I could make a difference."
Daniela nods sympathetically. "Sorry for your loss. How did you meet JoJo?"
Sakura smiles. "Seven years ago, I was on duty when I saw a desperate boy, Joel, with a severely injured officer floating beside him. I realized Joel was a Stand user, just like my brother. I treated the officer, then Joel explained he had nearly died fighting in Babilônia Hill, but Mesquita saved him."Daniela looks down with realization: "Ah… so that's why Joel trusts Mesquita so much. Mesquita saved Joel."
The doctor nods: "Yes. Some time after Mesquita recovered, he entrusted me with taking care of Stand users since I already knew about their existence. I obviously accepted, and now I've been taking care of officers and Stand users for 7 years, and honestly, I have no intention in stopping."
They continue talking about various topics when Joel enters the room carrying a bag with several blood bags, looking irritated: "Doctor, next time, leave these bags somewhere visible."
Sakura smiles and comments: "I'll think about it, Joel. But, honestly, it's always a pleasure to see you, even if you're always so grumpy."
Joel hands the bag to Daniela: "Here you go. Stock up while we finish our conversation."
Daniela takes the blood bags, thanking with a nod. She looks at Sakura: "Thank you, doctor. I hope we can get to know each other better."
Sakura smiles: "The pleasure is all mine, Daniela. And I'm sure we'll have many opportunities."
Joel rolls his eyes and calls Daniela's attention: "Dea, let's go."
Daniela rolls her eyes playfully and mockingly says to Sakura: "See you. Until next time."
Sakura waves her hand calmly: "See you next time, Daniela."
Joel and Daniela leave the hospital and start walking toward Joel's house. Along the way, Daniela brings up a topic: "Sooooo... Can I crash at your place?"
Joel's eyes widen in surprise and he says to Daniela in a stern tone: "No way!"
Daniela rolls her eyes and says playfully: "Come on... you know you owe me one... not to mention, are you really going to let your most beautiful and strongest ally sleep on the street?" She laughs and changes to a calmer and more serene tone: "C'mon... I have no place to stay. So, be a decent man and let me sleep at your place, or is the great Captain JoJo going to admit he's afraid of a beautiful woman?"
Joel stares at Daniela and sighs: "Fucking grief... promise you won't drain my blood, kill me, or use any vampire abilities on me tonight?"
Daniela laughs and nods: "I promise."
"… in that case, you can crash at my place."
Daniela smiles and wraps her arm around Joel's neck: "Thanks! I knew you weren't weak!" And she starts walking faster toward Joel's house.
He sighs: "Fucking grief..." And walks alongside her.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
