Capitolo Primo: Giovinezza (10)

The forest near the Joestar’s manor… to think that I would’ve ended up spending so much time there.

The limpid river was quite a calming element to what was the turbulent activity that would see me train for so long.

Muddiburi hadn’t stopped with just some techniques. He had encouraged me to experiment under his attentive eyes, to expand my arsenal through sharpening my senses, my muscle and my specialization in Hamon.

Heck, even the Spin had to be improved with what had happened when I had faced Wang Chan.

The man was more dangerous than I had expected him to be. True to the older Hamon User, the villain wasn’t shying away from employing the most dangerous elements of his connection with dark magic.

I reacted poorly, almost risking to get killed with the rest of my newest minions.

And that was unacceptable.

Once I was finally granted some time away from the theoretical bits regarding my education, I finally regained some free time to spend with Jojo up until a new professor decided to try and study my case.

The situation itself wasn’t troublesome, not even in the least, as I knew that my first encounter with Professor Sill had left a particular bitter taste to a large majority of teachers that had known the ‘defeated man’.

I expected to be spared by any other annoying instances for a couple of months, enough to allow for some other intellectuals to muster up their bravery at the challenge that I had presented to them by merely being.

The real troublesome bit was how sluggish my capacity to develop new skills was compared to earlier on.

The Spin was simple, but fairly limited to a single technique that expanded on various effects, and I was still far from achieving the Golden Spin.

Hamon was simple… until I had to make some blind decisions over the development regarding it.

I managed to try out my hands, literally, with the Scarlet Overdrive.

The blazing results making up for the worrying requirements behind the creation of this powerful Overdrive, but I wasn’t certainly going to try and make use of it all the time, especially with how limiting the conditions of the ability were.

And this is why I decided to try out two abilities that were greatly ignored by many users.

The first one was the Afterimage. By training my legs to sustain the high-paced style connected to the Ripple, I knew that I could achieve something close to an illusion to confuse my own enemies.

This was going to be crucial as it would easily boost my capacity to evade any dangerous attack thrown at my general direction.

Then there was the Sticking Ripple, which would grant me a higher extent of movement compared to normal.

Every surface, may it be solid or liquid, could be walked by with the use of the Hamon. I started slowly and with something particularly complicated.

The river was continuously flowing, thus it wasn’t offering me a stable ‘floor’ where to walk into, but after the first few times I made some progress.

Quick-paced stepping over the surface seemed to help in stabilizing the footing as my own feet were swiftly injecting the water with my own Ripple in an effort to keep afloat.

Muddiburi was surprised by this very last ability and inquired how I had developed this very technique since the last time we’ve met.

I decided to provide a faux answer, muttering how I had noticed that by applying the Ripple by my fingers and pressing those by a wall or a liquid, those would… stick.

There was of course some skeptical response to this, but in the end this very topic ended up being ignored for the sake of more sparring.

While I was allowed to experiment as calmly as I wanted, I knew that some battle experience was going to help me the most and so I continued regularly sparring with the powerful warrior.

His size should’ve already proven that he was a difficult opponent, but the fact that Hamon was his main specialty meant that I had to pay extra attention to the fights.

But it was during one of those matches that I finally managed to get one of my long-term objectives as I finally had another mean to attack my enemies with ranged attacks.

While the Spin was still the most powerful thing in that department, my little thinking had brought up a very convenient element that I got through with.

Water splashed by my fingers, and the friction generated… bubbles.

Hamon was the sole cause of this unexpected element as I slowly but surely got hold of Caesar Zeppeli’s own ability, the Bubble Launcher.

When one thinks of normal bubbles, they would see just some innocuous floating spheres that weren’t meant to be used as a weapon.

The thing is that those born from Hamon weren’t normal. In fact, those were fairly dangerous because of how flexible they were.

Muddiburi made that discovery early on when I had started to track him down with the use of the bubbles.

Imprecise but powerful, I had to make all ‘bullets’ count before being forced to drop the barraging for the sake of not draining myself too much about it.

It was a development, a good one, but still away from achieving the true might available with the two variants of the Bubble Cutters.

I was far from refining the Bubble-making art to this degree, but I was sure of gaining mastery of this in due time.

With the training regarding Hamon and the Spin continuing smoothly, I was also capable of offering even more opportunities for JoJo and Erina to bond deeper.

The two were fairly close, but still in a state of mutual friendzone. None of the two was ready to make the proper step towards a serious commitment, either out of shyness or because they didn’t want to rush too quickly in a relationship.

I could understand the latter logic, but I couldn’t accept the former.

And this is why, despite their meek reluctance to try and go ahead with something a little more serious, I managed to make some ‘deal’ happen between George and Erina’s father.

James Pendleton was more than honored to accept a visit for lunch, intrigued to understand what kind of situation was the one between his daughter and the young man that had took her heart with his mannerism and looks.

The doctor was mildly-impressed by Jonathan, almost praising the young Joestar with his courteous attitude and his genuine caring nature.

The compliments easily turned Jojo in a flustering mess, the same happening with Erina as her lone parent decided to tease a little about the future for these two.

The conversation was pleasant, and I tried my best to offer just the minimum input to not steal the focus from these two, even though I had wanted to share some medical discussions with the man.

There was no doubt in my heart that both George and James had understood the predicament quite clearly, and they both were seen sharing some words away from the two possible lovebirds.

With the satisfaction lingering for the rest of the day, I was sure that I had just scored a new ally for the conception of this sweet couple.

Time would be needed, but there was plenty of that to foster such a curious situation.

Still, the pleasant lunch became a cornerstone for the fact that I actively started to ‘push’ both towards each other.

They were clumsy, they were hesitant, and I granted them some mercy in the form of letting them interact without me influencing their words.

It had to be natural, the love had to be genuine. Or I would set them up for a disastrous marriage and… that wasn’t convenient for anyone.

But I would still keep some form of ‘watch’ over them. I wouldn’t creepily stare at them like someone that shipped two individuals madly… but I would keep nearby in case there was a scene worth of truly helping about.

I was interested in their love, not obsessed to see it accomplished.

And while I was happy with how things were setting up with the Joestar family, the mystery behind the Prophecy was still keeping me uneasily attached to continue with the translation of the tome.

The book was mostly done with, and I was sure that the solution was just around the corner.

The identity of ｢Made in Heaven｣‘s user, their motivations, their personality… and why they threw away absolute victory mere steps from conquering it.

The alluring case had me spend plenty of my free time about it, those few situations that I wasn’t either writing letters to both Speedwagon and Hannah or training with Muddiburi.

The new details concerning the lack of Stand Users got me confused as to why those were even mentioned.

Unnamed heroes going through normal heroic deeds that lacked any correlation with the powers mentioned early on within the book, it should’ve been as important as the earlier predicaments.

Or so I thought when I started to notice some strange patterns within some of the heroes.

At first it was a mere suspect, then my attention was raptly given to study once more the new parts as I discovered something that was actually changing my perception of Stands and Hamon.

While Stand Users ceased to be a common thing in the past, there was something of ‘fragments’ surviving within the few descendants of those superior beings.

It was the energy many could attain by grasping at the potential of their souls, the energy that better described human morality in its pure form.

Hamon wasn’t something that had been discovered by spiritual practitioners. It was something that was born from an unique event that I had forgotten about.

The battle between ｢Made in Heaven｣ and ｢Star Platinum｣ ended with the losing Stand ‘sacrificing’ what was left of its spiritual form to offer a ‘newer hope’ to humanity as whole.

And that power was the Ripple, the capacity for common humans to draw upon their own soul to aid themselves against the great menaces lurking Earth back in that time period.

It was a detail that offered so many explanations, and yet brought up some curious questions over the ability of ｢Star Platinum｣ to actually bring Hamon to the entire planet.

Absurd, almost ridiculous, but it would explain why both Stands and the Ripple were connected to the fighting soul of their users, or of why the Ripple itself was best achievable by those that had seen tragedy.

From tragedy, you find strength to prosper and bring hope.

And that’s what the dying Stand User that had last fought ｢Made in Heaven｣ had wanted.

Hope to defeat the prime threat against mankind, to cease the problem created by such a powerful force against balance.

It was an intriguing discovery that I was certainly going to investigate more about, especially with the possibility of Hamon being capable of bringing even more potential out of Stands themselves.

I could imagine the boost that the Time-Stop would receive, and I remembered how much it had increased in its ‘capacity’ the very moment that DIO had drunk Joseph’s blood.

I pondered over the infinite eventualities, and the chances of actually unlocking more of ｢The World｣ compared to what DIO was able to achieve because of his vampiric nature hindering with his growth.

I thought that I would’ve been granted a simple and uneventful week after what had happened back at the warehouse with Wang Chan, that both Jack and the foolish Chinese man would’ve ignored to entertain me with any sudden attacks…

But while I was happy that none of the two had decided to return to the spotlight in these last few days, my concerns were quick to rise up at some reports coming from both Hannah and Speedwagon.

Something ‘odd’ was happening in the outskirts of London, something that was leaving Scotland Yard baffled and horrified at the crime scenes they had found there.

The reports had been a little more detailed than I expected those to be, granting me a major outlook of the situation I was supposed to deal with.

With this new issue starting to materialize as a threat I had to personally take care of, I managed to get hold of George to explain that I had some important business to take care in London.

“I suppose this is about your little friend?” He inquired with a small hint of mirthfulness. “I guess that she had been missing your presence there.”

I blinked at that, almost forgetting that the man was aware that there was someone in London that would send me letters quite frequently and… that he thought it was a young girl that I had made a positive impression on.

“Yes,” I dryly replied. “She’s been asked for some advice over some unpleasant problems. I think bullies.”

“She didn’t say this?” The old Joestar inquired. “I suppose it had to be a tough environment.”

I nodded. “Perhaps… this is why I would prefer to be there to discuss this to her personally.”

“It’s important to offer the younger generations some contributions. They are going to represent us older men in the new eras,” He commented with a pseudo-poetic tone.

Yet I’m not that old. I’m barely… 14? Maybe 15 now that my birthday was coming soon.

Yet I was more than happy to take that blessing, ignoring the fact that I was then teased over the fact I was ‘doting’ over this young girl.

Which was technically bad to even think about, especially considering how Hannah was already obsessed with me despite the lack of direct interactions we had in the last few days.

I was there near to where she was, but I wasn’t certainly wasting too much time in speaking about simple topics with the overly-enthusiastic young woman.

Even considering trying some friendly-based situations with her would certainly see me dealing with far more interest from her than I really needed to deal with right now.

Especially when there was a furry problem causing so much of a mess by the edges of the capital and I had to capture or kill as soon as I could.

But seriously, how did Wang Chan manage to turn some moron into a werewolf?!

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Once I had reached the warehouse, I was met with quite the large group of people wandering around inside the building and browsing through the resources available to them.

Women, men, and children. The vast majority was merely looking with just a handful picking stuff and certifying their picking by the counter near the main entrance.

New workers, possible loyal members of my organization… I was careful enough to not entrust the guarding of the entrance to someone that had just joined the group.

Speedwagon had set his own men to allow the transactions to proceed smoothly and without any problems that could put the entire operation in jeopardy.

The situation was stable there, and so I didn’t waste too much time looking around as I reached to where my ‘office’ was.

The little room that had been prepared to accommodate my own private office had just three chairs (one of which was mine) and a simple desk.

I had yet to gain some libraries to fill with books I had taken from the Joestar Mansion, and I was wary of trying to steal too many tomes from the family’s reserve.

Despite the spartan nature of the place, I was quite satisfied with the quality of both chairs and desk, as I could see those being made in high quality wood and being still in good shape despite the lack of use in the last couple of years.

Speedwagon was sitting calmly by one of the two other chairs, giving me a quick nod as I entered inside the room… while Hannah stood up and gave a quick curtsie.

“Lord Dio, it’s good to see you healthy and in good shape,” The young woman greeted politely and eccentrically, making me nod swiftly at her words.

“I see that you’re well too, Hannah. I’m glad,” I returned, almost making her grin madly with my ‘praise’ as I went for my chair.

I paused for a moment, growing accustomed once more to the dim light illuminating the room.

Then I spoke up. “I’ve heard about your messages. The one connected to the monster haunting the outskirts of the city.”

“We’ve been able to discover that it’s a wolf-like creature,” The blond started to explain with more details. “The agents from Scotland Yard assigned to the case had reported some claw-marks and pattern similar to a canine creature, but bigger than the common wolf.”

“It sounds like a scary beast,” Hannah commented quietly. “But I’m sure that whatever it is, it will be properly put down by Lord Dio’s will.”

I really wanted to dig the whole ‘worship’ ordeal I was subjected while having the woman around but… seriously, how do I get her to tune down a little bit these instances?

“I think I’m aware of the monster lurking by the forest, but I will have to ask you both to keep quiet about it as it would be for the best to not cause any panic to the rest of the company,” I pointed out calmly, drawing some surprised look from both individuals, but then they quickly nodded at my warning.

“Good,” I muttered before offering my thought over the subject. “I’ve reason to believe the creature is a werewolf.”

Speedwagon’s eyes widened at the curt reply, while the former courtesan frowned in confusion at it.

“A were...wolf? What is that, Lord Dio?”

I glanced at the blond and nodded at him, granting at the man to answer in my stead.

“A werewolf is a creature that is mostly human, except during the times when the full moon is up in the sky. The human would transform in something close to a wolf, but stronger and scarier.”

“That sounds… odd,” Hannah commented with some confusion. “I mean, I don’t wish to offend Lord Dio’s deductive capacity… but...”

“Speak up, Hannah,” I allowed with a sigh. “I will not punish you for bringing up anything that is important to this situation.”

She gave a silent nod. “There hasn’t been any full moon in the last few days, Lord Dio.”

I returned the nod. “Which would seemingly debunk my theory… but I’ve reason to believe this werewolf isn’t as normal as it might seem,” I replied with a careful voice. “I think we might be dealing with some meddling from Wang Chan.”

Speedwagon frowned at the unpleasant reminder. “The strange man that attacked us? I know that he is a magician but-”

“You’re surely thinking that he did something to the moon… but I think the magic is directed at the werewolf itself,” I interjected quickly. “While he’s powerful, he doesn’t have a grasp of magic that allows him to do such a feat. The issue is the werewolf and… it will have to be put down.”

“That sounds… harsh,” Hannah hummed quietly.

“Dio isn’t incorrect to see it as a threat. While it has yet to slay any innocents, the damage it’s leaving around is-”

I held my hand up at this new development, stopping Speedwagon mid-sentence as I thought well about this very notion.

The werewolf hadn’t attacked anyone? That was just preposterous considering the predator-like nature of wolves. Albeit there were some wild ones that would avoid attacking humans, werewolves had the means to actually attack a settlement and retreat unscathed.

Victims were expected after two days of attacks. So why there wasn’t any?

That very concerned thought got me thinking for a while, and thus I deemed the situation to be far more complex that we were all thinking it to be.

What if the werewolf itself was just being forced by the magic itself? Up until now there had been no reports of attacks of this kind.

The frequency might be helping with the spreading of this news, but I knew that there was also a limit to this very notion.

So what was exactly going on by the outskirts? What was Wang Chan trying to gain from doing this?

...And was Wang Chan the culprit behind this?

Maybe there were other dark magicians I was just ignoring because they were mentioned.

Araki barely delved in magic as an element, but perhaps I should be wary of any surprises set along the way.

I really needed to consult Muddiburi about this, but the timing imposed by the situation just wasn’t allowing me to even ponder over gaining some advice from the man.

I had to make some tough decisions that needed to be implemented quickly enough to avoid any eventual victims.

While the lack of any casualties was odd, I wasn’t going to test my luck and see how far it would take for a dead or two to finally happen.

Thus I glanced at Speedwagon. “I think we have some untouched cutlery and other expensive objects that are made with silver in the warehouse. Please take a couple of those and bring them to the… Devell Brothers? Those two that said to have a small foundry-”

“I remember, yes and… what I’m supposed to get from that?”

“Lances,” I replied with a hint of self-disappointment. “I would’ve asked for bullets, but we need something ready for tonight and weapons aren’t something that we can recover this quickly.”

The blond nodded slowly and moved out of the office, while I turned to look at Hannah and-

“We are setting up an ambush tonight?!” She almost squeaked at that, making me flinch and groan.

“Speedwagon and I will set up a perimeter where the werewolf usually attacks,” I corrected quietly, making quick note of the tension rising on the young woman’s body at being excluded from the main action.

But I had a treat for her that she wouldn’t just refuse.

“While you will have the important role of keeping an eye for anything strange happening in the warehouse while we’re away,” I continued with a nod. “There’s a possibility that we might get attacked while we’re away. While I’m still uncertain that Wang Chan is responsible for this, I need someone to stay there and keep a mindful watch.”

She blinked. “But why me?”

“You’ve the Spin, Hannah,” I reminded her. “And I know you’ve been training dutifully with it since I’ve provided you with the basis of the Golden Rectangle.”

The girl nodded but then sighed with some reluctance. “But Lord Dio, I know I shouldn’t be whining but… I feel like I’m doing so little progress with the drawing. Are you sure that’s the only hint to reach the Golden Spin?”

I sighed, thinking back at the time I had decided to actually offer the young woman some help in developing her talent.

She had some easier time learning of the Spin, even using it around with a certain grasp over the complexity of timing and using the ability with moderation and caution.

“If I had any other clues to help with it, I would’ve offered it,” I admitted with a sigh. “In fact, I think we can train together sometimes, if you want.”

Her eyes widened at the proposal and her lips twitched in anticipation at such an offer. “L-Lord Dio, I- I’m not worthy of-”

“Hannah,” I interrupted flatly. “I think we really need to talk about this situation. I think there are some things I wish to address for the sake of honesty and… for the sake of trust between us.”

She looked confused. “W-What?”

“I’m glad that you really care for me this much, I really do,” I explained with a hum. “But I think you should drop the formalities… and the worship.”

The young woman was stomped by this. “B-But Lord Dio- You saved me from… from the worst, you’ve shown me the light and-”

“I don’t fancy myself a Deity, Hannah,” I interrupted again. “While I aim to do something unquestionably beyond the divinity, I think that it should be clear that I too have duties for those that believes in me. You and Speedwagon, both of you’ve already proven to be loyal to my cause.”

She didn’t reply, her surprise forcing her to silence as I continued with my speech.

“I will not diminish the importance you’ve given to our meeting, nor I will say that I’m annoyed by how things have been up until now,” I said with a serious tone, my orange eyes still staring at the shocked girl. “But I’ve to say that I didn’t help you because I wanted to have a servant, a minion. I saved you because you were someone in need of assistance, you needed help.”

“B-But I thought that-”

“I saved you because you’ve a worth, Hannah,” I interjected with some determination, her eyes widening even more at that. “And from what I’ve been listening from your words, it seems like you don’t believe this. I ask you to dispel any foolish thoughts that could be dishonestly saying that you are lesser than me.”

…

“I will ask you this because I know how much important it’s for you compared to Speedwagon,” I prepared to deliver my final query, the very evidence that will seal the deal with this important element to my operations. “Hannah… will you be my friend?”

I waited, quietly gauging her silence as I waited for an answer and…

One of her hands trailed up to her face, her palm trying to hide some tears already falling off her cheeks and I felt tensing up for any unneeded situation that could be happening from that very sight.

She sobbed, her other hand reaching for her lips, but failing to contain the crying noises as I continued to stare at the scene with careful silence.

“L-Lord Dio… I- Why are you- Why are you so kind!” She bawled, her sobbing increasing and my surprise intensifying at the route this conversation was taking right before my eyes.

I hadn’t expected this level of… shock from the young woman.

I had suspected that she had been deeming herself worthless because of society standards. Not because she was a woman, but because of the situation that saw her living in a brothel.

She was seen as a simple tool for pleasure, nothing more.

Perhaps I should’ve addressed this very issue early on but… I sighed, standing up from my chair and walking right in front of the girl.

Hannah paused for a moment, noticing me as I slowly opened my arms to her.

She sniffled, her mind trying to fight back a little the urge to comply to my implicit request… but she was soon rushing for the hug, grasping tightly while she cried even harder than before.

I was surprised by her strength at first, forgetting just like usual how mighty her embraces were, but I didn’t lament the closeness as I started to pat her back softly.

“L-Lord Dio-”

“Dio, Hannah,” I interrupted, whispering to her quietly. “I don’t think I need to explain that friends don’t use formal titles.”

She sobbed at that remark, her hold tightening even more much to my immense sighing.

I waited for some time, letting her get everything out. The sorrow, the pain… all that has been bottled up until now.

Then I noticed that five minutes had passed… just like that.

“Since I’ve some more time before I return back home, how about I start giving you some lessons about reading?” I inquired softly, drawing her attention quite suddenly. “I think it would be proper to finally offer you the chance of writing and reading, wouldn’t want you to stay so clueless for so long.”

She snorted quietly. “I-It would be nice.”

“I’m glad then,” I caressed her upper back. “And Hannah?”

… “Yes?”

I sighed. “That hand should go a little above where it is now.”

Her face heated up a little, but I felt the palm moving away from my lower back. “Good.”

Once we were done with that embrace, I would actually spend some time to rigorously start her with some lessons about writing and reading.

There was determination from her part, and I wasn’t going to offer anything meek out of my knowledge of the English grammar.

Much to my genuine relief she was old enough to be able to grasp the first few lessons easily and we smoothly dealt with some simple rules about writing. Reading was easier, especially with how many complicated words she had heard and how easily she was able to associate those with the tags I had presented to her.

But much to our mutual sadness, I was on a very stingy curfew and I found myself offering to her some homework to do before I started making my way back to the carriage directed back home.

She was waving, a bright smile on her face but even Speedwagon noticed that there was a change on her expression.

It wasn’t too forceful, it was a genuine sense of happiness that was there for everyone to see on her beautiful features.

And while I, Dio, prepared to face quite an unexpected battle with a presumed werewolf, I couldn’t help but wonder how much this new development will change my relation with the young woman.