Capitolo Primo: Giovinezza (19)

I woke up staring at the ceiling of my room.

There was silence, I felt safe. And yet I was tense for some reasons.

Breathe in, breathe out.

For a moment I closed my eyes, allowing any unnecessary emotion to slowly subside. I didn’t need to panic or worry.

We won that battle, and we surely came back home without any worrying injury that should’ve put me in that state of dread.

Yet it would be wrong to say that, with all the positive things that have happened as the deadly situation with the alternate Dio had come to an end, everything was fine.

It wasn’t. Or at least, I knew it shouldn’t have.

My brain wasn’t tired, nor did I hallucinate as I saw the horrible ordeal happen. I blinked again, trying to rationalize how Hannah managed to fight off vampirism.

Could it be that the Stone Mask didn’t work? Impossible. The device was meant to vampirize humans, no matter how strong their mental fortitude.

It killed and reanimated, it destroyed the soul and then revitalized the body to keep fighting against any threat to the user.

Why did things like this have to be so complicated?

I wasn’t someone that shied from handling massive plot points, nor was I really annoyed by the immense discovery that I accidentally made that night.

Hannah… She wasn’t a vampire.

The warmth of her body was too human-like, and the change with her eye color was to show that something was indeed different with her.

And yet, even though I knew that the young woman that was devoted to my cause wasn’t a blood-sucker… I also knew that she wasn’t human either.

The brainstorm began with the ludicrous possibility that she somehow became a Pillar Man.

Why was it ludicrous? The real purpose of the Stone Mask was to mutate the user to adapt to the natural weaknesses of the bloody Aztec hunks. The sun… the mask was created with the idea of being combined with the Red Stone of Aja, all to adapt the Pillar Men’s bodies to withstand sunlight.

The fact it could turn humans into vampires? A secondary effect. One that not even I was sure was expected or not.

Thus Hannah wasn’t a ‘Pillar Woman’. I could only have nightmares of a bulkier version of her storming around to give me sudden back-crushing hugs.

As much as I cared for her, I wasn’t planning to die by cuddling. It just didn’t feel divine enough.

Huffing, I tried to sit on the mattress instead of lying down. In that position, I was starting to get annoyed as the sheets were pressing over what I could only describe as bandages.

I still got an unpleasant beating while fighting my older counterpart, and I knew that even with Hamon I would still require a couple of days to properly recover from that frustrating state of body.

Yet, I was still able to sit and think some more as I allowed my body to shake off the last vestiges of sleepiness.

My sharp mind needed to work at 100% since the topic I needed to unravel was too important to be dealt otherwise.

Thus I pondered… and some more. But there was so much that had been left untouched about the matter.

Details that would help me formulate a logical conclusion to the insanity I had witnessed happening the day before.

I huffed again, this time because I decided to get off the bed. I was donning my pants while my chest was mostly exposed. I was bandaged heavily by my right arm, and I could tell my legs were garbed with some medical cloth too by the way those felt tightly pressed.

I could stand up, but I was limping a little bit because of how strained both limbs were.

Grimacing, I remembered just in time that my Stand had evolved, and its range had increased.

“｢ACT 2｣.”

It was immediate, and I didn’t even think much about it. Before my legs could’ve given up under my weight, the humanoid rushed to the wardrobe to pick something I was gifted by someone from the Ghost Club.

A cane made of refined yew. It was thick, it was resilient and… it would do to give me some support as I started making my way out of my room and right to where Hannah was.

If I knew her well enough, she had to have lingered around the manor while I was unconscious… and now that George was fine, I expected a lot of my lies to come out all at once the moment I crossed path with the man.

That sounded unpleasant, but taking under consideration how important it was for me to study Hannah from a closer look, I had to bite the bullet and take the risk of getting yelled at.

The hallway was devoid of life, and I took the opportunity to cross it as quickly as my currently crippled self could. Moving with a cane was a new experience, but not one I was optimally disliking since it gave me the chance of moving around with the least amount of pain possible.

My good luck lasted about… ten minutes. I was taking a turn to arrive at the main staircase, from there searching for places like the dining room or the living room to where Hannah could be.

Heck, even the library could’ve been a good place to check, but I wasn’t exactly elaborating a massive plan to find the young woman… and I was distracted by a particularly problematic sight as I arrived to see an unexpected arrival.

On a positive note, Hannah was there, with her Stand deployed and behind a serious-looking Muddiburi.

On a terrible note, they were standing against the group of Ripple users made by Zeppeli, Tonpetty, Dire, Straizo.

Coincidence? Maybe, but I wasn’t exactly planning to stay idle as the scene unfolded.

“Once again-” A voice declared with a stern and uncompromising tone started, having me stop for a moment to notice that Hannah and Muddiburi weren’t the only ones there. “This is my property, I don’t care for an accusation that is baseless against someone I consider an honorable guest of my manor. I will ask you this just once more… leave.”

George looked positively incensed as he addressed the intrusion. I wasn’t sure how much had happened, nor how the man came to actually defend the bizarre individuals I had brought from ‘work’, but I was pleased nonetheless by this development.

Hopefully, this also means that I will not get lynched by the man about lying about this much stuff.

Glancing around one last time, I saw two familiar heads partly hidden by the staircase’s handling. Bhediya and Jonathan. I guess they too were there to try and make a stand against the intruders… and part of me wanted to know how they would currently fare against them.

Probably badly considering they had just begun learning Hamon.

“Lord Joestar, the woman is not a human being, but something that was born from a nefarious tool that has been used to cripple humanity’s innocence,” Zeppeli tried to appease. “While I understand this sounds absurd, it is the truth. My master can tell that-

“My brother can only sense that her lifeforce isn’t humane anymore,” Muddiburi interrupted dryly, staring at his sibling in a moment of tension and frustration. “There are already many details that disprove this assumption.”

The monk aimed at the windows around that bathed the run with sunlight.

“Starting from the blatant fact that young Hannah is currently under the Sun as we speak!”

It was undeniable evidence that couldn’t be scoffed at. Vampires and Zombies would perish under the rays of the sun, and yet Hannah looked particularly fine in that condition much to the confusion of the Ripple users.

“She is no longer human,” Tonpetty calmly remarked. “Even though she isn’t burning under the pure light of the sun, that doesn’t mean that she still owns a soul after being subjected at the Stone Mask.”

...Wait, how does he know that-

P-Premonition!? I forgot about that.

The man used it with Zeppeli, but to believe that he would be able to use it without being in physical range with someone… How does that technique work?

Is that what Muddiburi had used on me for a long time now?

I was confused, intrigued by the scope of such a limitless ability… but my mind soon returned to the heated conversation as I kept on eavesdropping.

“Is this what the clan turned into? Guilt before innocence?” My teacher accused, drawing an unhappy look from his brother.

“It’s not that easy. You… you didn’t have the chance to see the truth about these horrible objects. The monsters that created those.”

He knew of the Pillar Men. He had to. There was no way he would make that affirmation and be unaware of the truth about these ‘monsters’.

…

Why didn’t he say anything before dying then!? Why did it all have to come up as a surprise that almost killed the world as a whole?!

I was growing vexed the more I listened, but I knew that acting now would just make things worse. And I wasn’t in a good state to do anything… which is why I was pumping as much Hamon as I could to speed up my recovery process.

Almost there.

“I-It still doesn’t justify attacking someone that did nothing wrong!”

This time it was Jonathan that spoke up.

“How could you speak of doing good things when you yourselves are giving no chance to those different from us?”

“Because these beings are dangerous and can’t be allowed to be left unchecked, young man,” Dire replied curtly. “While it’s indeed unpleasant to be handling this unusual situation, our reasoning isn’t without foundation.”

“That woman, she lost her humanity by using the Stone Mask-”

“H-How dare you!” Hannah finally snapped, looking as angry as she could get from that heavy accusation. “I’m quite fine. I don’t feel any different- except furious at being subjected to this slander!”

Her tone and posture surprisingly got the Ripple users to back away for a moment, all except for Tonpetty as the elder studied her with a confused look.

I sighed. She will never change in that regard…

My wounds were finally closed up, and I felt the soreness vanishing as soon as the girl was done with her rebuttal.

I decided against waiting any longer and, after leaving the cane to lean on the nearby wall, I started to make my way towards the stairs. Descending slowly from those, my steps were loud and quick to gain the attention of everyone in the entrance room as silence tried and failed to impose itself after Hannah was done.

“Dio?” The woman was the first one to greet me, a smile adorning her face… as if the frustrating scene happening seconds earlier was completely forgotten.

“Hannah, I see that you’re… well.”

A nod, and then a worried glance was directed at me. “You’re still-”

“No.”

The quick response got a surprised glimpse from her eyes, but she quickly nodded at my sudden rebuttal. I finally arrived at the end of the stairs and nodded at Muddiburi.

The man looked relieved, but there was still tension that was directed at his brother.

Speaking of which, Tonpetty looked completely surprised by my appearance.

As I took steps to walk around the fellow monk and towards him and his students, I saw him tense up and become more guarded. He was bracing for me to attack… and yet I had adopted the most serene posture to handle this troublesome group.

I was surprised they arrived now of all times possible, but I wasn’t really disappointed by this matter as now I could make a couple of statements about them.

Stopping just a couple of meters from them, I spoke.

“Master Tonpetty, I’ve heard many good things about you and your students,” I muttered politely. “Yet, the situation we all found ourselves meeting is rather unpleasant. If not unnecessary.”

…

“Mostly correct,” The elder admitted. “That woman. You’re close to her.”

I blinked in surprise. “Why, yes. Hannah is a dear friend of mine. One that you have unfortunately targeted with insults and baseless accusations.”

“She was tainted by the Stone Mask.”

“Mostly correct… but also not,” I rebuked mirthfully, drawing a frown from the old Ripple Master. “You see, something of a miracle happened shortly after she was turned by the Stone Mask. Something that should by all mean be impossible to achieve in normal circumstances but, taking in consideration the raw stress and pressure exerted on her mind, it would explain why she managed such a feat.”

I turned to glance at the girl, looking at me in utter confusion.

“Hannah, I suppose your Spin has improved ever since last night.”

The comment got a hesitant nod from her, but soon the girl seemed to realize what I was asking for her as she started to spin one of her pellets and… it happened.

Instead of white, the ball was glowing a bright gold.

“I-Is that… Hamon?” Straizo asked in shock, looking bewildered by the odd technique.

“No,” Tonpetty answered. “The energy is similar… but there is none of the lifeforce Hamon uses.”

“Indeed. What you’re seeing there is the Spin. Something I’ve learned about months ago and… that can be considered the prime responsible for Hannah’s bizarre situation,” I resumed with a smile. “The Spin is normally incapable of doing much except changing some ‘elements’ of an object or an individual if the user knows precisely how the change has to naturally incur. But when it takes that color, when it unlocks its full potential in the form of the Golden Spin… reality becomes easier to mold about even when the user has limited knowledge of what they wish to change.”

“But how does this apply to the situation?” Tonpetty. “Without a soul, there is nothing that your friend could’ve done to restore it and revert to humanity.”

“Indeed, she didn’t have a soul for a time… but the Golden Spin was unleashed shortly before losing her soul,” I revealed with a convinced tone. “And from what I could remember when I was in the proximity of that light… I was given sight over her memories and the emotions tied to those.”

…!!

“She- She copied her soul?” Anthonio suggested in utter shock. “She actually managed to create a full copy of her soul… and then absorb it after she was able to detach the mask from herself.”

“That’s completely correct,” I confirmed with a nod. “Which is why this is a miracle as… the Spin, by all means, shouldn’t have been able to make this grand feat without an absurd feat of divine nature, one that Hannah displayed in the darkest of time.”

…

“You’re telling the truth,” Tonpetty muttered with a surprised tone. “And… this Spin, I assume you yourself can use it.”

I nodded, replicating Hannah’s example but with my Spin still being silvery instead of the heavenly yellow of its complete form. The sight got a confused frown from me as I realized that, while I ‘knew’ how to do it, my body was still unable to replicate that phenomenon.

It was an annoying revelation, but one that didn’t inherently screwed my chances of fully unlocking the Spin’s potential. In fact, now I had higher chances of seeing it completed in a month or two of hard training.

“Master, while I know that your wisdom never tricks you… could it be that the situation is different than the boy is showing it to you?” Zeppeli inquired with a tense look. “I understand that he had been peaceful now but-”

“Young Zeppeli, I appreciate your concern, but I know the truth when I hear it,” The old master interjected. “Your worry is driven by the past events that made you hate the Stone Mask and all its products, but for this hate to influence your good heart… you should meditate about it.”

He bowed his head instead of protesting, seemingly quick to back away if Tonpetty said so even in such a limited fashion.

Without any reason to linger about in the manor, the Ripple Users proceeded to apologize about their unexpected visit, mostly to George as the man was the owner of the place.

They then proceeded to leave the premises of the mansion, making their way to their carriages before parting for London and… leaving me to handle the aftermath of this encounter.

I looked around, greeting the people there with a calm smile… until I found myself staring at the older Joestar and noticed the look that I knew only as the prelude of a lengthy lecture and chiding from him.

One that was legitimate by all means… but that I really wasn’t hoping to be subjected to.

Despite my best interests to not deal with this situation, I was still pulled to face that conversation a couple of minutes later and after one of the servants had one of my shirts and jacket fetched for me to wear for the occasion.

This was going to be rather unpleasant.

----------d-d-d-d-------------d-d-d-d---

The office room that was George Joestar’s was uncharacteristically quiet despite the man seemed so close to finally allow all the questions and the confusion crashed down on me as I took a seat by the usual chair.

We stared at each other, and I felt oddly nervous by the fact we were the only individuals in the room.

Jojo wanted to be there too, same for Hannah, but the nobleman decided against permitting others to sit for this conversation.

…

“Are your wounds still aching?”

…

“No.”

He looked relieved. “That’s good to know.”

Silence returned again, and I felt the build up coming to nothing after a while.

“Are you angry, Lord Joestar?”

He sighed at my query, but he gave me a blank expression instead of a telling one about his mood.

“I’m… concerned. And feeling a sense of betrayal at the fact that you keep so much from me.”

I squirmed in my chair, and I decided against poking the hornets’ nest any longer. I wasn’t sure what was going on inside the man’s head, and I wasn’t planning to risk myself to discover his real mood.

“I just learned that you trained in some mystical arts, that you created an organization that is just recently starting to make a name for its actions, and then that you’re tied with a club led by some influential politicians in London.”

Keeping quiet, I tried to limit the damage to something bearable. Maybe I could ‘live’ through this without losing all respects I had accumulated from the man.

I knew I was playing some dangerous gamble here but… it wasn’t like I had a real choice on the matter.

As much as George was someone that had little impact on my life up until now, if he decided that the best retaliation was to shun me and bring up to attention my work with ‘Made in Heaven’, then the whole situation would take a sharp downward turn. One that I could recover, but at a heavy price and after a long time of attentive planning.

“I feel the need to ask so many questions despite how much I was told. All of them praised you for being a kind person no matter the circumstances… and yet I find myself doubting this fact with how intricate this web of deception you’ve created is,” The man resumed with the same intensity and aggravation. “I put my trust on you to grow and… you keep it. But you also went behind my back to do so much that, albeit good in most part, put you in a troublesome position. One that not only would’ve put you in peril, but you also allowed for Jojo to be part of this.”

…

“Speak. I want to hear from you now. Anything will be taken as it is delivered,” George demanded quietly. “You… You can’t just allow this all to pass without giving some answer. To be respectful of whatever moral integrity you’ve for so long prided yourself for.”

And now that got me annoyed. Morality was something I still valued, and for it to be threatened like this… well, I had to speak now.

But I had to be careful as each word would now be valued with a greater weight than usual.

“My name is Dio Brando,” I started to say with a calm voice. “I’m fifteen years old. My father was Dario Brando, a drunkard, and my mother was a hopeless woman that lost her dream to be happy. I lived in the slums for years, becoming familiar with the plight of those that were born in my same conditions. And from that life I created a dream. One that became possible only after I was taken in by George Joestar, the man responsible for the success of the Joestar Trade Company and the father of Jonathan Joestar.”

“...”

He was listening. At least this seemed to be working well for him.

But let’s not stop here… it was sure going to be a long train ride to painland.

“I started with little. I studied how things worked- how people handled their plights, and I realized that all those individuals had to go through the misery of having no safe net. No warm bed, no sure meals, no means to know that they will be alive the moment they close their eyes.”

“Dio-”

“I had to do something. Because if I decided to not do anything, I would’ve become part of a system that doesn’t work. A system that can’t be opposite in the open and that only by turning and twisting its rules one can hope to make the difference,” I interrupted, unwilling to let go of the ball now that I was in control of the conversation. “‘Made in Heaven’ was created for this purpose. To reform society into something built by tolerance, respect of all lives, and justice for those that are wronged by the unfairness of life.”

“What about those talks about… magic?”

“The Ripple, or Hamon, is more of a lifestyle that hovers about the manipulation of life energy. Every living being can attain it through duress and training, and this can be used as a substitute to sunlight when fighting vampires and zombies,” I explained with a nod. “The Spin… I’ve already explained it when our ‘visitors’ were still there.”

George nodded. “I see...”

…

“Despite my reluctance to say this… I think I have to mention that you did lie about something just with that explanation of yours. And while the lie is more of an easy mistake to make… I find myself forced to forward you this,” The nobleman quietly mentioned before pushing a piece of paper across his desk for me to pick.

I did so, and my mind swiftly contemplated all possible outcomes.

Was he finally kicking me out? Was this document going to annul any debt the man felt toward Dario? That he didn’t recognize me as his ward?

So many ways to screw me up, but none actually came close to what the paper itself was trying to ‘force me to do’.

In fact, my brain had to reboot the moment I was done reading the lengthy document I was presented with.

…

…

“Is this… true?”

George nodded, and he looked really uneasy in keeping up with this act. Because of course he would’ve thought of this as a possible solution to prevent me from going too crazy with my plans.

The document wasn’t something that messed up with my current life. It actually… cemented it.

“You want to adopt me. After all what had just happened.”

“Especially after what had happened,” The man corrected. “You may or may not take in the name Joestar from now on, but you will not be recognized as the heir despite the fact you’re Jojo’s senior by a couple of months.”

“I’m… fine with this. This is Jojo’s future.”

The older Joestar sighed in relief at that response.

“I hope you understand that from now on I will be checking from time to time with your investments. I will not push you to outright follow a different path you have going… but I will scrutinize you if something feels unnecessary or unproductive.”

I nodded at that imposition. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t horrible to handle with proper care.

“And lastly… I want you to study to get a degree.”

I gritted my teeth at that final point.

“You mean-”

“You will go to a university and, once you’re done with all tests, you will get a proper degree.”

“What if I ended up getting one, still on my own… but without bribery?”

…

“Are you trying to say that you think you can rush the exams and get one?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“If you can afford doing so without ruining the family’s honor and pride, then I see no reason to veto this decision.”

I nodded. “I understand, Lord Joestar.”

He sighed tiredly, catching me off-guard with that sudden change of mood.

“Dio… if you accept the document, I will only accept ‘father’ and other titles akin to that one.”

I frowned at that unexpected demand. Like, I was expecting him to be quite pushy with his points… but to this degree?

I wasn’t sure how to deal with the new change in the status quo… but now I had some new objectives to go through.

And while George expected for me to live a normal life now that all threats had been handled, the man was naively unaware that this was the last challenge to abandon my childhood, my giovinezza.

Because, much to his immense surprise and glee, I, Dio, would end up getting a degree in law by the time I became eighteen. And from there… The story takes an odd turn of events even for someone like me.