"Oh—stop, stop! Goldfish aren't for eating!"
A quiet dinner with his grandson to talk things over would've been nice, but there was still a child waiting at home. Joseph had kept his promise and returned with two little goldfish in a bag.
"Here, quick—have some milk, and spit the goldfish out! Look at this, it's a kendama! It's really fun, I promise."
"Ptooey."
Joseph fumbled clumsily with the kendama, half-coaxing, half-tricking Yimi into spitting the goldfish back into their bag and grabbing the strange toy he held out instead. She pawed at the ball dangling from the string.
What a weird old man. He'd gone through the trouble of buying goldfish and then wouldn't let her eat them.
"How adorable, she's like a little doll! What's your name? How old are you?" Holy reached over to play with Yimi, momentarily forgetting that her own house had been partially demolished.
All things considered, what a relief that Papa hadn't developed a psychological condition.
"She won't understand you in Japanese. I told you, this kid's from Manhattan. Though at this rate, if she stays here long enough she might forget her mother tongue." Joseph sat cross-legged on the floor, unable to get comfortable with the Japanese-style kneeling posture.
"This girl's name is Yimi. She's a child Suzi and I adopted in Manhattan. She has a Stand that lets her turn into a cat, and she's got strength on par with Avdol's Magician's Red... Hey, don't put the ball in your mouth—look, this is how you play it."
"Mm..." The little cat had zero interest in Joseph's demonstration of proper kendama technique. She turned her head toward the new addition in the room—a stone-faced teenager in all black. "Who's he?"
Joseph opened a bottle of milk for her. "Oh right, I forgot introductions. This is my grandson, Jotaro Kujo. Want me to teach you how to greet someone in Japanese?"
Yimi blinked, studying Jotaro's face.
Wasn't a Japanese greeting just koni-chi-wa or something?
"Beyond differences in language, each region also has its own customs and social norms. In some regions, one may address elders or the elders of one's friends directly by name."
System supplied the cultural knowledge that lay outside Yimi's language modules.
"Then what should I say?"
"Searching based on host's current status..."
With System's guidance, Yimi marched over, reached up to pat Jotaro, and said in already-passable Japanese: "Call me Auntie."
"..."
"Yare yare." Jotaro pinched the brim of his cap, adjusted it, and ignored her completely.
"Wait, you speak Japanese? But more importantly, I've been meaning to ask—" Joseph pointed at the figure lying on the floor, gradually regaining consciousness. "What happened with this guy who doesn't look too good? Is he an enemy?"
"If you mean what happened earlier, I'm afraid so." Kakyoin answered for himself.
He pressed a hand to his aching head and sat up, his gaze drifting toward Yimi for a moment before darting away.
"He was being... controlled." Yimi filled in the rest.
His naturally introverted personality made organizing his thoughts in front of this many people a slow process.
"It was DIO. That should be the correct name."
About three months ago, Kakyoin had been traveling with his family near the Nile River in Egypt when he encountered that man—the kind whose mere gaze sent an involuntary chill down your spine. DIO had implanted a Flesh Bud in his brow to seize control.
As a forcibly conscripted pawn, DIO had seen no reason to share anything with him. So that was all the information he could provide.
"Went and demolished someone's freshly renovated house, huh." That was Jotaro's only comment throughout the entire explanation.
He showed no particular interest in Joseph's talk of generational vendettas and Vampires.
"I'm deeply sorry. I'll compensate for the damages..."
"Don't worry about it—it's not like you meant to." Holy waved it off with an easy smile, dismissing her wrecked home like it was nothing.
"I see. Still, it's a relief you weren't seriously hurt. What a coincidence, though—you happened to be attacked the one time you were left home alone." Joseph patted Yimi's head, a belated chill running through him.
"A coincidence? No." Kakyoin shook his head gently, wincing as phantom pain pulsed through his brow. "My memory of that particular detail is extremely hazy, but I can vaguely recall receiving an order a few days ago: Priority target—capture the cat-eared girl."
"What?"
Joseph stared down at Yimi, completely at a loss.
She bore the Joestar name now, sure, but she had nothing to do with any blood feud or generational destiny. He'd adopted her barely a week ago—hadn't even started the process of enrolling her in school. Why would DIO target her?
A deeply unpleasant possibility crept into Joseph's mind. This DIO wouldn't happen to have certain... inclinations so disgusting people would spit in his face if they heard about them...
"Ah—you shouldn't move yet. Let me get the first-aid kit." Holy noticed the bloodstains on Kakyoin's body and headed for the inner rooms.
She was still holding the bag of goldfish, planning to put them in the little fish tank Jotaro had owned as a child.
"Mm." Yimi saw her fish being carried away and immediately trotted after her.
Even if she wasn't allowed to eat them, she could at least sip some of the broth.
Holy took her hand naturally. "What is it, are you hungry? Is there something you'd like to—"
She trailed off, one hand rising to her forehead as a wave of dizziness passed through her.
A bit unwell. She'd probably caught a chill—it was November, after all.
"Mew?"
Yimi sensed something. She grabbed the back of Holy's shirt from behind and flipped it straight up.
"Kyaa!"
The sudden rush of cold air made Holy yelp. Cheeks puffed, she bent down and gently flicked Yimi's forehead.
"You mustn't play pranks like that when it's freezing out. And a young lady especially shouldn't do things like this, understand?"
Yimi rubbed her forehead and pointed. "Something's sprouting. On your back."
"What's wrong, Holy?" Hearing his daughter's shriek, Joseph came sprinting over—even shouldering past Jotaro to get there first.
"Nothing—I just saw a spider." Holy closed one eye and held a finger to her lips in a shh gesture, signaling Yimi not to tattle about the prank.
She hadn't registered what had actually happened.
Yimi tugged at Joseph's sleeve and pointed at Holy. "Something's sprouting. On her back."
"What?" Joseph froze, then looked at his daughter more carefully. There it was—a faint hint of disorientation, a subtle irregularity in her breathing.
Cold sweat instantly soaked through Joseph's back.
On the way here, he'd already been worried about this very possibility. In recent weeks, while searching for allies who could help fight DIO, he'd encountered his share of Stand users—including some whose abilities served no practical purpose, or worse, actively endangered their own hosts.
At its core, a Stand was the manifestation of one's spirit. Anyone who awakened one possessed mental fortitude that deviated from the norm. But the Joestar family's current generation of Stands hadn't been innate—they'd been forcibly triggered by DIO's bloodline resonance.
And if someone within that resonance lacked the spiritual strength to withstand a forced awakening... he hadn't dared think about what that would mean.
"Holy, turn around."
"What is it, Papa?"
"Don't talk." Joseph's expression was dead serious as he lifted the back of her clothing. Sure enough—vines, or perhaps something more like fern fronds. Intangible, untouchable. And sprouting from them, several unopened flower buds.
"Sh—" He caught himself just before the profanity slipped out.
"What's going on, old man?" Jotaro followed them in, brow furrowed. "What is that."
"The thing I was most afraid of has happened."
Joseph looked at his daughter. Even putting on a brave face, the traces of fatigue were unmistakable. There was no way she could endure this kind of strain.
He didn't explain in front of Holy. Instead, he clenched his fist and shot Jotaro a look that said everything.
"Is it... very uncomfortable?" Yimi asked Holy.
"Uncomfortable? Well... a little, I suppose. But I'm sure a good rest will fix it right up." Holy tried craning her neck to see her own back, but of course, she couldn't see anything from that angle.
"Mm..."
Yimi reached out and touched her.
And sent the misfortune elsewhere.
"How about now?"
"That's strange... all of a sudden I feel much better."
...
Egypt—
"What?!"
DIO stared at his own back, bewildered and furious.
"What is this?"