Chapter 1
The casino floor was bustling more than usual on this night. The patrons who often had their head buried in the games of chance were now wrapped up into a panic. The sound of the ringing alarm was causing more chaos than expected. Murmurs and shout seemed to echo throughout the casino's floor as all eyes were darting around the massive room. Each pair of eyes were on the lookout for something, or rather someone. A shadowy figure seemed to be leaping from rafter to rafter, trying to conceal its movements while a light trail of light seemed to follow its steps.
"What's with the alarm?"
"I was about to win!"
"Are we in trouble?"
The voices of concern echoed through the floor as several men in black pushed their way through the crowds of panicked patrons. The three men pushed into the center of the floor and began to scan the rafters looking for their target. They didn't have to look long before they hear one of the patrons' shout.
"Hey… up there!"
The men in black gazed upwards to where the patron was pointing. Standing in full view of the crowd was their target. Now longer shrouded in darkness it was easier to see what the shadowy figure looked like. Standing at least six feet and four inches seemed to be a young man. He wore massive dark brown boots that went up to his thighs. He had dark gray pants with a dark red strip running down the side tucked into the boots. On his hip were two belts, one wrapped around his waist and pants while the other was slightly tilted downwards wrapping around his lower half. The young man had a dark grey vest on with two red lines running down middle of the vest, almost splitting his body into two sections. On his arms were two dark gray arm bands and red leather gloves. He had a black cloak wrapped around his body that almost reached down to the floor. His face was hard to see as it was covered by a pair of massive aviation goggles and a black aviator cap.
However, the two most defining features of the young man, besides his massive height or well-built body, was a patch of hair that stuck out of the aviator cap pointing upwards and the massive smirk on his face.
"He's here. Move in immediately." One of the men in black said to the radio in his cuff as the three men pushed their way through the crowd and towards the young man.
The young man smirked only seemed to widen as he quickly turned heel and jumped off the platform landing on a nearby hanging art piece.
"Good now get running!" A boyish voice said as the young man slowly began to sprint forward.
"This is our only chance." A boy's voice said as the young man jumped from the first hanging platform to the next.
"Stay calm! You can get away now." A girl's voice said.
"We'll retrieve the briefcase on our end." Another girl's voice said.
"Suspects…. Not confirmed…. Hold positions…" A static voice chimed in as the young man made jumped to another platform.
"Hmm what was that?" The voice of the same girl said.
"Don't worry about us. Just concentrate on getting away!" The boyish voice interpreted as the young man jumped to another platform.
The young man jumped behind a hanging neon sign as the boyish voice spoke again. "But I have to say, showing yourself above that crowd before was an excellent move." The boyish voice said as the young man jumped down from the neon sign and onto the next platform. "Nice work as always Joker."
The young man stopped in his tracks and smirked to himself, "You know me. I love a good show." He said lightly chuckling.
"I bet Skull wouldn't pull it off that smoothly." A different girl's voice said laughing lightly at her joke.
The young man was so wrapped up in praising himself he didn't notice several men dressed in black appear on the balcony a few meters away from him. "There he is!" One of them shouted pointing at the young man.
"Oops, gotta go." Joker said sticking his tongue out to mock the men in black.
"Just run! Get out of there!" A girl's voice shouted.
"No need to tell me twice." Joker responded turning heel and heading in the opposite direction of the men in black.
"Okay, the enemy's focus is on him. Looks like the rest of us can slip away." The boyish voice said as Joker jumped to the next platform in front of him.
"Everyone's remember where we're meeting up?" A new voice said belonging to another girl.
"No worries, I can guide you all." A girl's voice said as Joker jumped from platform to platform the tiles lighting up under his feet each time he jumped from platform to platform.
Finally, he made it to the end of the room reaching a balcony looking over the floor. With one quick motion he pulled himself up on the rail and flipped his entire body over. In the blink of an eye he was on the other side of the railing.
Joker ran forward looking to make more distance between him and the men in black but then, two of them seemed to slide in from the side. But something was different about them now. They now seemed to be twice the size of a normal human and had thick blue masks covering their faces. Now blocking off his escape route Joker looked back to see if there was another way. To his surprise a man in black blocking the way back.
Joker wasn't worried however. "Take'em down Joker!" A girl's voice said as Joker smirked and jumped into the air. He seemed to guide his descent downers, landing on top of the man in black. Joker grabbed the thick blue mask covering the face of the man in black. Joker breathed in deeply as his hand seemed to glow. With one hard grunt from joker the mask flew off along with several drops of blood. Joker kicked the man in black forward using him as a jumping off point to safely land back on the ground.
The man in black stumbled forward as his body began grow dark. His entire body became almost ink like as bubbles began to form on several parts of his body. The man in black hunched over for a moment before growing even bigger, his human form was no longer recognizable from the dark mess.
Suddenly a new creature seemed to emerge from the darkness. It had the head of a bull with one eye scratched out. It had a long and narrow torso that connected to an even longer set of mechanical legs. It had a massive mechanical tail that waved back and forth as the creature held on to two odd shaped belts wrapping around it's waist. It towered over Joker and clearly meant him harm.
Joker responded to the transformation by pulling out of pair of metal clackers. He held them in his hands and analyzed his opponent while a voice spoke to him, "Compering power levels…. No threat. Get'em Joker!" The girl's voice said as Joker took a deep breath, his body glowing.
Joker rushed forward and threw the first pair of clackers. They crackled with electric like energy as they hit their target stunning the tall bull-like creature. Joker wasted no time and jumped into the air and pointed down at the creature. "Persona! Hermit Purple!" Joker shouted as his right hand was surrounded by several long purple vines covered in thorns. "Take this!" Joker shouted as the vines stretched forward ensuring the bull-like creature. Once bound Joker took another breath, "Hamon Overdrive!" Joker shouted as electric like energy flowed from Joker, to the vines, and evidently the bull-like creature.
The bull-like creature let out a cry of pain as it quickly disappeared into thin air leaving nothing behind. "Ok! Pull out before their back up get here." The girl's voice said congratulating Joker on his victory.
"Good, you defeated them with ease." The boyish voice said also congratulating Joker.
"Aww, thanks guys." Joker respond as the vines around his arms disappeared and the clacker he threw seemingly returned to his hands.
"More of them!? Be careful!" The girl's voice shouted in surprise as three figures in black appeared from thin air and the very ground itself. The closest of the men in black charged joker and swung at him with an electric baton.
Before the attack could connect Joker quickly jumped backwards landing on his hands and then performing another back flip to land on his feet. Joker smirked at his attack and breathed in deeply as his body was once again covered in electric like energy. Joker jumped up into the air soaring to the balcony above him landing with grace.
"Joker behind you! Go through the door!" A girl's voice said as soon as Joker landed. Joker quickly turned around and saw the door open door behind him. Wasting no time he sprinted forwards towards the open door escaping the casino floor.
Joker ran for a bit before finding himself in a different section of the casino. One with concrete walls and floor, giant metal pipes behind steel cages, and stickers on the wall incenting the reading to 'win!' and 'go for broke!'.
"You should be able to get out that way! Hurry!" The girl's voice seemed to shout at Joker.
"I heard yah! Making my way now!" Joker responded holding his ears as if it was damaged by the shouting.
"Dude you okay? Can you hear us?" A new voice said belonging to a boy this time.
"What? I can't hear you. Your gonna need to speak louder." Joker responded sarcastically as he made his way down the hallway.
"Ass." The boy's voice responded.
Joker continued to make his way through the twisting and turning hallways, ducking under the glass to avoid sight from the other rooms. Finally, he made it to the end of the last hallway where the stairs were located. He gleefully turned the corner before a voice snapped him back into reality.
"Up ahead! Stop!" The girl's' voice shouted causing Joker to stop in his track and almost fall over. He quickly began to swing his arms backwards to propel himself backwards behind a crate.
"Hey! You could have warned me earlier!" Joker whispered as loud as he could.
"What was that? I couldn't hear you." The girl's voice responded throwing Joker's attitude right back at him.
Joker smirked, "Clever girl." Joker quickly began to jump from crate to crate hiding his presence each time he made his way across the room to the next crate. Eventually, he was at the last crate right at the end of the hallway and in front of the man in black.
"... Hey are you sure he came this way?" The man in black said to his earpiece. "Understood, I will continue the search." The man in black nodded and turned around heading down the hallway towards where he thought Joker was.
Joker jumped out from behind the crate and stuck his tongue out at the man in black. "Sucker." He said making his way up the stairs. He continued to make his way up the stairs while hearing the sounds of boots also making their way up the stairs as well.
Joker made it to the top of the stairs and ran down another hallway. When he opened the door he found himself in the casino ballroom. Joker ran to the railing of the balcony and looked for an exit. "Drat! I don't see anything." He said.
"The exit is right up ahead!" The girl's voice said.
Joker looked up and towards the stain glass window. "You can be serious!" Joker shouted.
"Nhn... ! That's just how it is! After all that commotion there's no way you're getting through the bottom floor." The girl responded.
Joker looked down below, she was right. No way out that way. As he weighed his options he heard the sound the several guards finally make it to the top of the stairs. "Over there!" He heard on guard shout.
"There's nowhere to run!" Another guard shouted as they pulled out their guns and pointed them at Joker.
"And next you'll say, 'Give up or we'll shoot!' am I right?" Joker asked pointing one finger at his head and another at the guards.
"Give up or we'll shoot!" One of the guards shouted before becoming completely confused.
"Sorry boys but looks like this is my stop!" Joker shouted jumping on the railing of the balcony. He ran across to the other side of the room and in front of the stain glass. "Okay here we go! Just like in the movies!" He shouted jumping through the stain glass.
Time seemed to slow down as Joker smashed through glass. Joker glided through the midnight air his body twisting and turning through the air. The moon behind him only silhouetted his body as began to fall back down to earth.
"What a show off." One of the girl's voices said.
"You're so reckless you know that?" Another's girl voice said.
"And that's why you all love me!" He said smiling as he came back down to the ground. He quickly adjusted his body so he would land on his toes. He then quickly rolled to his left adjusting to the floor. Joker slowly stood up as several glasses of shard landed behind him. He smiled but his happiness was quickly turned sour as several spotlights shown in front of him.
Joker brought his hands up in front of his eyes to block out some of the light. Once his eyes adjusted he could clearly see he was surrounded on all sides.
"Enemies, here?! These readings… it can't be!"
"Joker what's wrong!?"
"What happened!"
"Joker!
"An ambush?!"
"Oh no!"
"Can you handle this Joker?"
Joker smirked. "Of course, I can. I always have one last plan in situations like this!" He said.
"Please don't tell me you're gonna do that…." One of the voices groaned.
"Of course, when your back it against the wall there is only one thing you can do!" Joker shouted.
"Capture him!" A man over a megaphone said as several riot officers began to march forward towards Joker.
"Only one thing to do… RUN AWAY!" Joker shouted and he began to sprint away from the cops wildly swinging his arms back and forth as he ran. As Joker ran he noticed a fire escape ladder leading to the top of a building. Smirking he headed towards it and in one jump grabbed the bottom of the railing. He swung his body like a gymnast and quickly vaulted himself to the top of the ladder.
Feeling good he climbed the ladder looking down at the cops below. "See yah!" He shouted down at them sticking his tongue out. Joker made his way to the top of the ladder but was shocked to find a squad of police officers all waiting at the top with their guns drawn.
"Now hold on I ca-" Is all Joker was able to get out before receiving the end of the rifle to his face. The hit caused a few drops of blood to drip out of his nose as he body was forced off the ladder and down into the swarm of cops below.
"Get off me! I bite!" Joker launched several more insults and curses at the cops as they pinned him to the floor and quickly put a pair of cuffs on him.
Joker continued to struggle as a detective strolled through the crowd of officers up to Joker. "Didn't expect to find some kid." The detective said. "You have your teammate to thank for this. You were sold out." The detective said grabbing Joker's head by his hair and lifting him up slightly. Joker responded by spitting some blood into the detective's eyes.
The detective wiped away the blood and smirked, "Take him away." The detective said walking away from Joker. Joker was picked up by one of the offices kicking and screaming and thrown into an offices car. Within minutes Joker found himself in front a camera posing for his mug shot.
Three men in suits looked at the young man sitting in front of them. He was dressed in a black school uniform however, it looked like he had made some modifications. He had rolled back both the sleeves on his shirt to show his muscular arms. The young man had a pair of leather fingerless gloves and thick black boots. On the collar of the uniform were several golden pins including a peace sign and a golden hand. The young man was unconscious and had several bruises all along his body.
The man agent in the room scoffed at the unconscious victim, "Guess the drug was too strong…" He said before turning to one of his partners behind him. "Wake him up." He said as the man behind him nodded throwing a bucket full of cold water on the unconscious boy.
The young man suddenly awoke coughing up some of the cold water that had landed in his mouth. The young man slowly opened his eyes adjusting to the dimly lighted room. He found two cameras one in each corner of the room and three detectives each one glaring at him.
"No dozing off." The main detective said coldly, his tone full of venom and spite.
"Where…." The young man said trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten there. Then it all came flooding back to him. He had been captured by the police, handcuffed to the chair, and was tortured for what seemed like several hours. Or days, honestly his sense of time was off and he couldn't even tell if it was night or day anymore. They had given him something, something that had made the entire world cloudy and dim.
"You still don't get it, do you?" The main detective said as the young man began to twist and turn in his chair, trying desperately to escape. "Give it up!" The detective smirked and kicked the young man in the chest knocking him and the chair over.
The young man slammed down against the hard-concrete floor causing him to cough up a small amount of blood. The young man glared at the detective and was about to say something when the detective brought his foot down on the young man's head. He slowly began to put pressure on his head as he rubbed his heel on the side of his head. "Come on, cooperate! Or what, do you want another shot?" The detective asked with a venomous tone.
The young man didn't respond only looked at one of the camera in the corner of the room. The detective followed the young man's eye and lifted his foot up. "Hm, what about the camera? Are you thinking it can be used a video evidence?" The detective said lifting the young man's head up pulling him by his hair.
"No, I'm just thinking about how I'm gonna punish you guys." The young man said weakly trying to put on a smirk but unable to.
The detective smirked and pulled harder on the young man's hair. "As if. There are no laws here that are gonna protect a foreigner like you. You're just a filthy criminal." The detective responded before slamming the young man's head hard on the concrete floor. The detective then slowly stood and kicked the young man hard in the stomach. "I hate guys like you, acting all cocky. You should just do the world a favor and off yourself already." The detective said kicking the young man in the stomach once again.
The detective turned back and grabbed a clipboard from one of his partners. "Obstruction of justice, blackmail, defamation, possession of weapons… manslaughter too, yeah? Talk about the works. If I didn't know any better I think you were some American spy. But we both know you're too stupid for that."
"I don't know, I think I would make a great spy." The young man said weakly coughing up some more blood at the end of his sentence.
"Too think that all these crimes were led by a punk like this… and you seemed to be enjoying every second of it hun?" The detective asked staring down the young man.
"I was… enjoying it? Everything's hazy…. I can't remember…" The young man thought to himself as he tried to catch his breath from the beating he had received earlier.
The detective sighed and shook his head. "You should know your place you damn kid." He said slowly making his way to the young man. He then gestured at one his comrades who promptly uncuffed the young man and stood him up. The detective flashed a clipboard in front of the young man. "Sign here. It's a confession under your name. Joseph Joestar." The detective said smirking.
"Of course, I'll sign it right now." He said jokingly making a weak smile at the detective.
The detective pulled a pen out of his coat pocket and handed it to Joseph. "Don't expect to walk out of here in one piece. One must take full responsibility for their actions, understand?" The detective asked getting in Joseph face and staring him down.
Joseph took the pen and looked at the paper on the clipboard. His vision was still blurry and he could barely read what was printed. He did catch a few words, but nothing concrete. He smirked as he signed the paper handing it back to the detective.
The detective took the clipboard and looked at the signature, Josef Jostare was signed at the bottom. The detective gritted his teeth and looked back at Joseph who had his chin resting in the palm of his hand. "Tricked you~." Joseph said with a wide smirk on his face.
The detective stood up and brought up his fist ready to hit Joseph in the face when there was a knock at the door. "Niijima from the prosecutor's office is here." A voice from the other end of the door said.
The detective stopped himself and turned to the door, "You're kidding right? We have everything under control here. Tell Niijima to go somewhere else." The detective responded.
"Can't do sir. Orders from the top. She gets time to interrogate the criminal." The voice responded.
The detective made an audible scoff as he turned back to Joseph. "Run along now." Joseph said mocking the detective. In response the detective kicked Joseph hard in the stomach.
"Don't get comfortable kid. I'll be back." The detective said narrowing his eyes at Joseph.
"I doubt it." Joseph said wheezing from the kick.
The other two detectives grabbed Joseph by the shoulder and dropped him into the chair. "Wait right here." The detective said all three exited the room. There was a brief moment of silence before the door opened and a tall silver haired woman in a business suit walked in. She took a seat opposite Joseph and put down the stack of flies she was holding.
She looked at Joseph for a moment and then looked away, "Why am I not surprised it's you." Niijima said sighing to herself.
"Miss me already? Can't blame you." Joseph said weakly trying to put some charm into his words but failing.
"You're going to be answering my questions this time. No fooling around." Niijima said looking right into Joseph eyes staring him down.
Joseph felt his entire body go up in smoke with each passing second, she stared at him. Instead of of his usually playful demeanor he simply nodded.
Niijima was about to start her interrogation when something blinded her left eye. She looked towards the source of the shine and found an empty needle sitting on the floor. "Those bastards…" Niijima said scowling at the thought of using drugs on a child.
"You're still in there right?" Niijima asked causing Joseph to nod his head. "Good. Now as I'm sure you're aware anything can happen in here… and I can't stop them." She said quickly glancing at the needle. "That's why I need you to answer my honestly. I don't have that much time either.
"What was your objective? Why did you cause such a major incident?" Niijima asked. "I knew it wasn't a prank from the beginning but I couldn't assemble a case from prosecution. It's because I couldn't figure out a method behind it." She said resting her elbows on her legs waiting for a response from Joseph. Deep down she was hoping for a real answer, not another cocky one liner but with him? It was impossible to tell.
Joseph was silent for a moment. He put his elbow in the table and held his head in place with his hand. It was clear that despite his earlier cocky attitude that he was tired. He was sweating profusely and there was still a bit of wet blood running down his lips and the side of his head. "Of course you couldn't…." Joseph weakly respond.
Niijima laughed softly. Of course he would respond like that. "True." She said quickly moving on. "There's no way I could be convinced of such a… 'world' just by reading the reports." She said. "It seems you coherent enough."
"When and where did you find out about that world? How is it even possible to steal another's person's heart?" Niijima asked switching back to prosecutor mode and firing off questions at Joseph. "Now tell me your account of everything. Start from the very beginning."
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Joseph looked up. Just above his head was a blue butterfly with translucent wings. The butterfly gently flew past his head before disappearing from sight once more.
"... You are held captive." A mysterious voice said to Joseph, one he didn't recognize. "Prisoner of fate to a future that has been sealed in advance. Doomed to a bloodline forever tied to misery. This is truly a unjust game… your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may yet be a possibility open to you…" The voice continued to state.
The butterfly once again reappeared and floated in front of Joseph, the sight of the butterfly alone seemed to calm his spirits. Putting him at an ease he had never felt before. "... I beg you. Please overcome this game… and save the world. The key to victory lies within the memoires of your bonds- the truth you and your friends grasped."
Joseph didn't understand what was going on. Who was speaking to him right now? Why? "It all began that day… when the game was started half a year ago…" The mysterious voice said. "For the sake of your world's future… as well as your own… you must remember…"
The butterfly began to fly towards the top of the room before disappearing once more and Joseph closed his eyes, retracing his steps and the day this all started.
4/9/17:
"I said are you listening Joseph?" An older male voice said waking Joseph up from his daze.
"Hun? Yeah I was listening Uncle Speedwagon." Joseph responded leaning further back in his chair.
The older gentleman sitting next to Joseph was Robert E.O. Speedwagon, but most people called him Speedwagon. He nearing his late sixties had had several liver spots along his hands and arms. Despite his older age, his features were still very strong with dark brown eyes that compared to solid oak. Speedwagon was dressed like a gentleman, a worn but still fashionable black hat, a dark blue suit with matching pink bow tie, and a pair of dark blue slacks with black dresses shoes.
Joseph on the other hand was slightly muscular and rather tall for his age. He had dark brown hair that somehow spiked upwards but also spiked downwards near the back of his head. The most prominent feature of his hair however where three strands of hair that stuck together and spiked upwards a few inches away from his face. He bad light blue eyes like the banks of a lake with strong facial features that made him look like his face was drawn with a thick ink pen. Although he wished he wasn't, Joseph was forced to wear the Shujin Academy uniform. It consisted of white turtleneck and a black suit top with large dark red buttons running down the side. Joseph of course refused to button up his suit and so he could make his own design on the turtleneck. He had stitched in the word 'JoJo' was on the chest area of the shirt in bright yellow font with two yellow stars in the middle of each 'O'. He finished off his uniform with a pair of red, gray, and black patchwork pants that reach down to the top of his black and white shoes.
This young man's full name was Joseph Joestar, but he preferred to be called JoJo as he found it catchy and more appealing to women (that's what he thought at least). Joseph had an interesting yet tragic background. He never knew either one of his parents, his father had died in an airplane accident. His mother had died to disease before Joseph had even turned two. Growing up an orphan was hard for Joseph so he quickly latched onto the only family he had left, his Grandmother Erina Joestar. As Joseph grew older he was introduced to Robert E.O. Speedwagon who would later call his uncle and grow a close bond with the older gentlemen who had been friends with the Joestar family for what seemed like forever.
Joseph often traveled the globe with his uncle Speedwagon who was a wealthy oil tycoon. Due to this and Erina's tutoring Joseph had learned a several languages including, Italian, Arabic, French, and even Japanese. A few months earlier Speedwagon told Joseph he was going to Japan and asked if Joseph wanted to come along. At first Joseph told Speedwagon, 'Why would I ever want to go to Japan? It's crowded and I hate the food' which earned him a verbal lashing from Erina causing Joseph to go with Speedwagon to Japan in order to escape more verbal lashings. While Joseph wasn't enjoying his time in Japan, he learned a lot about the culture and the people much to Speedwagon's pleasure. This were going fine until last month when Joseph had gotten himself into trouble with a Japanese politician.
If a foreigner was found in trouble with a Japanese politician it would quickly spell the end of them and a lengthy jail time would ensue. However, Speedwagon was influential around the world mostly thanks to the goodwill of the Speedwagon foundation, an organization devoted to benefiting humanity through acts of charity. So, after some time, it was decided Joseph would be spending a year in Japan to not only show his goodwill towards the nation but to prove that he wouldn't get into any more trouble and that jail time was unnecessary. Which is why we he currently enrolled in Shujin Academy for the next year and spending the year with a Japanese household.
"I still don't get it Uncle Speedwagon, why can't I just rent an apartment or something and live there for the next year?" Joseph asked placing his chin in his hand and sighing deeply. Joseph was adamant to the fact he would have to stay with a stranger for a whole year. He was very particular about his lifestyle and didn't need some stranger telling him how to live.
Speedwagon sighed deeply. He loved Joseph like a son but sometimes the boy was simply too much for him to handle. Especially in his older age. "How many times must we go over this Joseph. You know the rules about your next year here." Speedwagon said reprimanding Joseph for his lack of attention.
"Yeah, stay out of trouble and kiss the ground off all the adults I pass by." Joseph said with a sarcastic tone and grunting lightly in disapproval. Joseph hated the fact all these adults always had to lord over him. He thought it was bad in America but to him it was even worse in Japan.
Speedwagon sighed once more not sure how to respond to Joseph's attitude. Speedwagon wasn't sure what Joseph so unruly in his life. Joseph treated all types of authority with such disdain. The only people he seemed to respect was Erina and his friend Smokey. And Speedwagon to a lesser extent. "Joseph…." Speedwagon said ready to explain once again why Joseph should be thankful that he wasn't in jail when the train's speakers came to life. 'Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for riding with us today. We will be arriving in Shibuya shortly. This is the last stop for this line, please transfer her for all subway lines.'
Joseph stood up grabbing his bag from under his seat. "Well this is my stop." He said looking out the window once last time as the train entered a tunnel blocking out the sunlight. "Don't worry Uncle Speedwagon. I promise Granny Erina I wouldn't cause any more trouble and I intend to keep that promise, no matter how hard it may seem." Joseph said speaking seriously for once and almost whispering the last part.
Speedwagon nodded, it wasn't much but he hoped Joseph would at least keep his promise to Erina. As the train arrived at the station the speakers came alive once again, 'The doors to your left will now open' and on cue the doors opened. Joseph watched as most of the other passengers walked off the train and onto the platform. But for a brief moment Joseph paused as he looked back at Speedwagon. Joseph had a sense of longing in his eyes as he looked at Speedwagon. Before Speedwagon could ask Joseph about this Joseph stepped out of the train with the doors closing behind him.
Speedwagon leaned back in his seat closing his eyes for a brief moment. "I wish him luck… I truly do."
As Joseph looked around the platform he noticed two girls gossiping. "What are you for real? A mental shutdown?" One of the girls said almost laughing.
"It's the truth." The other girl responded gripping her phone as if she was reading an online article.
The girl lightly laughed, "To a person though? It's got to be joke. You really love that occult stuff don't you?"
Joseph frowned almost grinding his teeth. He hated girls like this, who did nothing but talk and fill the air with their annoying voice. Joseph decided it was time to shut them up. He stumbled forward in front of the two girls causing them to abruptly end their conversation. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation please go on." Joseph said shooting them both a dirt look.
The two girls didn't respond, only staring at the massive Englishman in front of them. "What? Nothing more to say?" Joseph said leaning in and cupping his ear with his hand. Again, Joseph received no response. "Then I'll be on my way." He said turning heel and heading towards the stairs.
"That was kind of scary." One of the girls whispered thinking Joseph was out of earshot.
"I didn't know foreigners could be so rude!" The other girl said stomping her foot.
Joseph shook his head as he made his way to the top of the stairs and to what he knew as central station square. It was bustling with people moving in all sorts of directions. Despite the chaos there seemed to be an order to it as no one bumped into each other or caused a scene. Joseph was a bit scared at the autonomy of the square. It was too uniformed for him. It was almost creepy how the people seemed to move without looking where they were going.
As Joseph contemplated the square he heard a quiet beep come from his phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned. It was the app again. Ever since he had arrived in Japan every so often a weird app downloaded on his phone. It was a black eye against a red background with several odd spikes sticking out of the eye. Joseph felt like he had deleted the apps countless times since he arrived but it always seemed to come back. He had even gone as far as to buy a new phone but the app keeps coming back.
Joseph tapped the icon trying to delete it once again but something odd happened, something that had never happened before. The app took up the entire screen as Joseph looked around him. Everything seemed to be slowing down, the people, the sound, even the wind was no longer blowing. Suddenly everything stopped. No one in the entire square moved a muscle, all expect for Joseph.
Joseph was too shocked to even say a word as he started to panic, looking around for any kind of movement to prove he wasn't going insane. Joseph then saw something out of the corner of his eye, a giant blue flame. Joseph turned and found a massive blue fire at blazing at the edge of the crowd. The fire grew in size before it seemed to take on a human shape with two massive wings near its side. Joseph looked closer at the human like figure as it three oranges flamed sprouted up near the face. The orange fire formed a pair of eyes and a mouth that menacingly smiled at Joseph. Suddenly for a brief second, he saw himself in the fire grinning widely back at himself, his eyes now glowing a bright yellow.
Joseph jumped back in surprise almost letting out a yelping bumping into a passing by businessman. "Hey watch where you're going!" The man shouted walking away. "Damn foreigners not paying attention…" The man mumbled as Joseph looked around. Time no longer seemed to be frozen as the crowd continued to bustle around him.
'What was that…' Joseph thought to himself as he looked at his phone again the app shrinking down in size to a icon. Joseph dragged the icon to the bottom of his phone deleting it once again. Joseph wasn't sure what had happened or what he had even saw. A giant blue flame? How come no one saw it? And why did everyone stop moving? But most importantly, was that really him grinning like that?
Joseph put these thoughts in the back his head as he looked at his phone again pulling up directions to his location. Joseph followed the directions to another train heading to Yongen-Jaya. Joseph took the train all the way to the station and then stepped out. Joseph checked his phone again as he warned the station making sure he was going in the right direction. Joseph did his best to navigate the busy city until he found himself in the backstreet. 'Is this really the right place?' Joseph asked himself as he looked around. 'I'm looking for a Sojiro Sakura. His house should be somewhere nearby according to my phone.'
Joseph looked down the narrow street until he spotted a officer standing near by a grocery store. Joseph never liked police officers, they were often rude to him back in New York and if he hadn't intervened for Smokey that one time his best friend could have been shot. Regardless Joseph needed to find Sojiro, so talking to this cop would be his best bet. Joseph sheepishly walked up to the officer, "Hello officer!" Joseph said grabbing the policeman's attention.
The policeman was an older gentleman with a scowl on his face. "Yes, what is it? Can't find your way back to your hotel?" The officer asked clearly upset that Joseph was bothering him.
"No, nothing like that. I'm actually looking for a family friend who supposedly lives nearby. His name is Sojiro Sakura." Joseph said keeping calm but clenching his fist hard and trying his best not to punch the officer in the face. Joseph showed the policeman his phone and the address he was looking for.
"Oh, you're looking for Sojiro-san! His house is in the alley a bit further back. Take a right after the apartment with the stairs." The officer said his entire attitude changing at the mention of Sojiro name.
Joseph nodded. "Thank you very much." He said heading down the alley towards the location the officer gave him.
Joseph continued to walk down the alley with his hands in his pockets. Of course, he got the occasional stare from some passing bystanders, it was certainly odd to find a giant of a Englishman walking down the streets of a residential neighborhood. Despite how tall he was he was still rather young, only 17 years old. Most foreigners and tourist would stick to the more commercial parts of the city, avoiding places like this.
"He's so tall!"
"Where do you think he's from?"
"Mommy's who's that?"
Joseph heard the voices of the onlooker's whisper as he passed them by. His Japanese wasn't always perfect but he understood enough to know when people were talking about him. It was the way they would look away as they talked, trying to avoid eye contact. Joseph ignored the voices though, he didn't really care what they were saying.
Joseph took a right at the apartment with the stairs and found his desired location. He came to a shabby two-story house with a stone fence. Joseph looked at the metal nameplate to make sure he had the right house and sure enough the nameplate read 'Sakura'.
"Hello! Anyone home?" Joseph shouted despite the fact he had already rung the bell. "It's very rude to keep your guest waiting like this!" Joseph shouted again tapping his foot as he waited for a response. After a few minutes and receiving nothing but silence Joseph had a feeling no one was going to answer the door.
'Maybe he's gone out?' Joseph thought trying to find an explanation as to why no one was answering the door. He was so wrapped up in his thought he didn't notice a voice coming from the street to his left.
"Looks like no one's home…" The voice said causing Joseph to perk up and listen in on the voice. The voice belonged to a deliveryman holding a box. "Oh yeah… Sakura-san's usually at his cafe around this time." The deliveryman said to himself. "Well Leblanc's in the back alley so I should make my other delivers first…"
'Jackpot' Joseph thought to himself and smiling a bit. Turning around he headed back into the alley. If Joseph remembered correctly he remembered seeing a cafe on his phone's map. It was right around the corner from where that officer was standing if he remembered correctly.
Joseph made his way back to the officer turning on the corner. He only had to walk a few feet before finding his destination. He found a hole in the wall cafe with potted plants outside the shuttered window. The cafe had stripped canvas with the words, 'Coffee & Curry' and the name of the cafe underneath 'Leblanc'. Joseph was a bit confused on several fronts. First, coffee and curry? Japan had some weird taste in food but for Joseph that made no sense! Something bitter with something spicy? Where's the flavor in that? Shrugging his shoulders, he grabbed the door handle and walked inside the face.
The first thing he noticed about the cafe was how small it was. There were three booths along the wall with an old plastic table in between each booth. To his left was a bar with four old wooden chairs. Behind the bar was several shelves of glass containers full of coffee beans, each one having a different label. Further behind the bar was a small kitchen with a stove and blue refrigerator. Several glass stained lamps hung from the ceiling and a cold wooden floor beneath Joseph's feet. In the furthest corner of the cafe was a small stand and a small T.V. playing the news. Overall if Joseph had to describe the cafe… it was simple. Nothing too fancy.
Sitting in the middle booth was an old couple drinking a cup of coffee each. Joseph didn't concern himself with them though, he was more interested at the man sitting at the counter. He was middle aged man with a receding hairline. Despite this his dark black hair was slicked back with a chin strapped bear that had a goat that seemingly flared out. He wore a bright pink button up shirt with pale khaki. He had white loafers on with a striped apron over his shirt. The top button of his shirt was undone and he rolled back the sleeves on his shirt to his elbows. The man had on a pair of thin frame glasses that took up the majority of his face. His face was long with a pointed nose and what looked like a permanent scowl on his lips. His eyes were slightly baggy and with a light gray hue to them. He was hunched over a newspaper while the T.V. played a new report.
"A public transit bus was driven down and opposing lane with its customers still inside it! The citizens can't live in peace if this keeps up." The reporter on the news said.
The elderly man at the booth shook his head at the news. "How frightening." He said looking at the older woman across from him.
"What could be going on? Didn't something similar happen just the other day?" The old lady responded clearly frightened by the news.
Joseph did hear about incidents happening like this lately. Odd occurrences were people would simply break down and commit horrible acts. Some even went as far as to murder their loved ones. Joseph shuddered at the thought of something like that effecting either Speedwagon or Granny Ernia.
Joseph was snapped out of his thoughts when the man at the counter began to mumble something, "Vertical is… the name of a selfish used for farming pearls…."
"Oysters." Joseph responded.
The man at the counter looked up a bit surprised by Joseph's answer. "It's oysters. Pearls are often found in oysters." Joseph stated again.
The man at the counter put the newspaper away and sighed, "That's right, he told me you would be here today." He said shaking his head.
The older couple stood up putting some money on the table. "We'll be going on. The payments on the table."
"Thanks for coming." The manager responded.
"This place is in the back alley, so there's no worry about a car crashing in here." The older man said jokingly.
"A what now?" The manager asked confused by the joke.
"There's been a string those rampage accidents, you know. I just hope none happen around here." The older man said clarifying his joke.
"It's none of my concern." The manager said crossing his arms.
The older gentleman laughed in response. "We'll see you next time." He said slowly shuffling out of the cafe followed by his wife.
As soon as they left the manager let out a deep sigh and rubbed the back of his neck. "Four hours for just a single cup of joe." He said clearly frustrated. He then turned to Joseph getting a good look at him. "So, you're Joseph right?" He asked.
"That's me. So that must make you Sojiro Sakura-san." Joseph responded.
"That's right. For the next year you'll be under my custody. Speedwagon told me you might be a bit unruly so he gave me the phone number to your Grandmother, said if you give me any lip give her a call." Sojiro said chuckling a bit as he stroked his goatee.
Joseph went pale as he felt sweat began to form on the back of his neck. He internally cursed Speedwagon, he was playing dirty.
"Just so you know I'm only taking you in as a favor to Speedwagon. So don't try to act cute or anything." Sojiro said sternly staring Joseph down. "Now, follow me." He said turning around and heading towards the stairs near the back of the cafe.
Joseph nodded and followed Sojiro climbing the narrow steps up to the top. When he arrived he was shocked by what he saw. He found a small room covered in dirt, cobwebs, and dust. There were only two sources of light coming from a pair of dimly light bulbs that illuminated the room. In the corner was a small bed with a old beaten up blanket covering it. In the opposite corner seemed to be some sort of desk covered in a plastic wrap that had several books laying underneath. To Joseph's right was a disorganized bookshelf full do what looked like moldy books, gas canisters, and what even looked like a house plant covered in all the trash. To his left was a small two-seater couch and another desk covered in trash bags. In the middle of the room were two boxes each labeled with the Speedwagon corporation logo. Joseph felted depressed just walking into the room.
"This is your room." Sojiro said before turning to Joseph who was stunned silent. "I'll at least give you sheets for your bed."
Joseph mouth was now hanging open his faced covered in shock and disbelief. He wasn't doing a good job at covering up the fact he was disgusted by the room. Sojiro picked up on Joseph's attitude and sighed, "Something wrong?" He asked already knowing what the answer was.
"Of course there's something wrong! How the hell do you expect to live in this!" Joseph shouted.
"Keep your voice down fool!" Sojiro said shaking his head. "I agreed to house you but there's nowhere to sleep at my place. This was the best option. I cleaned up a bit but I don't have time for the rest, that's on you." Sojiro said spelling everything out for Joseph.
Joseph was shocked that this place was somehow even dirtier than when he arrived. Joseph had a feeling that all Sojiro had done to clean up the place was move a few things aside. "Alright listen up I'm gonna explain the rules of living here. You can't leave after I lock up each day, it would be a pain in my ass knowing you were off who knows where with the store left open like that. And don't trying anything funny in the cafe, if I find one thing off I'll throw your ass out got it?" Sojiro said looking at Joseph for a response.
Joseph balled up his fist, clenching hard to hold himself back from shouting at Sojiro. This was who he was supposed to be spending a year with? A grouchy old man who wouldn't know kindness if it crawled down his throat? Joseph relaxed his fist and simply nodded, it was the only thing he could to keep his anger in check.
"Now then… I got the gist of your situation. You were protecting some woman from a man forcing himself on her, he got injured, then sued you. Right?"
'Not even close disphit!' Is what Joseph wanted to say. How could Speedwagon still not understand what had truly happened? Is this what he was telling people about it? That he was dumb kid who had hurt someone trying to play hero?
"Well that's what you get for sticking your nose into a matter between two adults. You're lucky you know Speedwagon or it could have been much worse. Honestly what were you thinking? Getting into a fight with a political leader in a foreign country? Are all American kids that stupid?" Sojiro asked shaking his head in disappointment. In his mind Joseph was an arrogant, self-righteous, teenager who didn't understand how the world works and had been coasting on Speedwagon's success his whole life.
Joseph began to grind his teeth, a habit he had apparently picked up from his Grandfather who would do the same when he was mad. Joseph wasn't hitting idiots who would only run their mouth and didn't know a thing about him! 'I'll show you a big stupid American!' Joseph thought visualizing himself hitting Sojiro with a sly right hook.
But he couldn't, Joseph was mad but no matter how bad things got he wasn't stupid. He understood his situation better than anyone else. Pissing off Sojiro by something would make his situation worse. He had to be cool and collected, which was sometimes easier said than done. Joseph simply nodded, "That's right, it was a stupid mistake. Next time I hear a woman screaming for help I'll just keep walking like a good kid." Joseph responded with a hint of sarcasm.
Sojiro frowned, "That kind of attitude won't get you anywhere you know. Just keep your head and behave yourself for the next year and your probation will be lifted. You can go back to America and never bother me again."
For once Joseph agreed with Sojiro one hundred percent. Keep his head down for a year and never come back to this shity country for the rest of his life! "Don't worry, I'll the poster child for well-behaved delinquents." Joseph said jokingly.
Sojiro sighed, he was going to have to put up with this for a whole year? Deep down Sojiro was already regretting saying yes when Speedwagon asked if he could watch Joseph for a year. "Don't forgot, were going to Shujin tomorrow so make sure you set your alarm." Sojiro said crossing his arms.
Joseph had heard a bit about Shujin from Speedwagon. Apparently, it was fancy Japanese high school that only accepted the best. But after a donation from the Speedwagon foundation it was decided to increase cultural sensitivity the school would allow a foreign exchange student for the year. Beyond that Joseph knew nothing about the school expect he had to a wear a uniform, which he had already given his personal style too.
"Honestly you must be the luckiest kid on the world. Having Speedwagon save you every time you mess up. You better count your blessing." Sojiro said shaking his head. "What a waste of my Sunday…"
"I'm sorry I wasted your precious Sunday. It won't happen again I promise." Joseph said dryly offering a weak apology at best and an insult at the worst.
Sojiro couldn't stand another minute with this brat. "Your luggage arrived earlier. I'm going back to the Cafe. Don't come back downstairs unless you're dying, about to die, or your room is on fire." He said walking past Joseph and heading back downstairs.
Joseph sighed as he looked at the room. It was going to be hard work cleaning this place up and if there any two words Joseph hated it was 'Hard Work' and 'Work Hard'. Sighing heavily Joseph rolled up his sleeves and began to get to work, all the while cursing whatever star we he was born under.
Joseph sat down on his bed exhausted from his work. He was so exhausted he didn't even hear Sojiro climb the stairs and enter his room. When Sojiro arrived, he found the room somewhat cleaner than he had earlier. Most of the dust and cobwebs were gone and the floor wasn't covered in dirt anymore. The bed was made and the windows were no longer covered in a thick dust. Sojiro was impressed, he was honestly expecting Joseph to simply let things remain a mess. He didn't seem like the type to clean anything.
"I heard you making a bunch of noise upstairs but I didn't think you were cleaning." Sojio said stroking his goatee light.
"Well what can I say? I like to keep people on their toes." Joseph responded with a wide smirk on his face.
Sojiro took another look around. "Honestly, it doesn't look that bad. But I think you've done enough for the day. Why don't you head off to bed? We have a early morning tomorrow." Sojiro said.
Joseph was about to say something but stopped himself. Sojiro was right, he was tired and going to sleep sounded like heaven to him. He just had to shower and change first. "Sounds good. Where's the bathroom?" Joseph asked standing up.
Sojiro pointed behind him to the stairs, "It's the only door on the second floor. You can't miss it." Sojiro turned back around about to head down the stairs, "I'm going to close up shop and head home." He said heading downstairs back into the cafe.
Joseph grabbed his bag and followed Sojiro instruction heading to the bathroom. The first thing he noticed was how small it was. Joseph had to duck just to get inside the bathroom. Joseph sighed, this was another problem he had with Japan. He was a tall dude and he worked out enough to be fit. But everything in Japan was designed for someone half his height and build. It was annoying. Joseph took a quick shower and brushed his teeth, changing into his pajamas for the night. While he like fashion at night he didn't care what he wore. A simple pair of soft cotton pants and a large t shirt was enough for him.
Joseph headed back to his room and collapsed on his bed. He sighed deeply and he leaned back into his hands. 'Arrested for a crime I didn't commit. It's like something out of a bad action movie.' He thought to himself as he tried to sleep. However, when he closed he saw the man again. The man who almost ruined his life. The way he had looked at Joseph with such hate…. It still scared Joseph to this day.
Joseph closed his eyes and thought back to that day. He was heading back to the hotel after going out that night. He wanted to try some of the local food and as he headed back he heard the screams of a woman. At first Joseph keep walking, this wasn't his problem he didn't even know the voice of the woman screaming. But as he walked his steps got slower and slower, he felt something burning in inside of him. He felt heavy and at the same time weak. He had sighed deeply and began to run towards the sound to the woman screaming. When he had arrived, he found a drunk man trying to push the woman into the car. That's when he had intervened…. When he….
Joseph opened his eyes and sighed deeply. Why was he thinking about this? What was the point? No matter what he told the cops they didn't believe him. Heck, Speedwagon was criticizing Joseph for getting involved and getting hot headed. The only one who believed him was Granny Erina.
Joseph was brought back to reality when his phone went off. 'Again!' Joseph thought pulling his phone out of his pocket and not surprised to find the app on his phone once again. He sighed and quickly deleted it. He didn't want to deal with that today, his day was stressful enough as it was.
Joseph finally decided to close his eyes for good this time. He had enough of this day. Pulling the covers over his body Joseph relaxed as he finally let go and fell asleep.
Suddenly Joseph opened his eyes again as the sound of something clicking had woken up. However, when Joseph woke up he wasn't in the cafe. He wasn't anywhere close to that. He was in a padded room with velvet cushion. He was sleeping on a cold steel bench and felt something heavy on his wrists and ankles. The room was dimly lit and it took a bit for Joseph to adjust to the light and when he finally had he noticed a pair of heavy iron shackles around his wrists.
"What the hell…." Joseph mumbled to himself as he slowly stood up confused about everything. He had so many questions. Where was he? How did he get here? Why he wearing prisoners' clothes? Why was he in a padded jail cell?
Joseph train of thought was interrupted by a low chuckle. Joseph turned towards the source of the noise and almost gasped at what he saw. Two blond little girls, with their hair tied into buns and dressed in velvet guard outfits appeared from seemingly nowhere in front of the bars. They both looked no older than six or seven and barely came up to Joseph's knees. Each one had an eyepatch on one of their eyes, one had an eyepatch on their left eye while the other had an eyepatch on the right eye. Embroider on the eyepatch as an elegant letter 'V' in gold print. As Joseph stood up and walked towards the bars of the cell the girls moved closer together until they were standing right next to each other. Joseph shuddered, it was like something out a horror movie.
Joseph walked up to the bars and tried to move further but was stopped in his tracks. Around his ankle was another iron cuffed, this time attached to a heavy iron ball, preventing him from moving any further.
Joseph looked further past the two girls and saw something odd. Something almost… otherworldly. Beyond his cell was a circular room and in the middle of the room was a massive velvet rug with the same embroidery as on the two girl's eyepatches. On top of the rug was a small desk with a stack of papers, a quill and ink pot, and a small desk lamp.
However, there was someone sitting behind the desk. Someone who sent chills down Joseph's back just by looking at him. He was an older man with a balding head and white hair on the side of his head that reached down to his shoulders. He had massive pair of pointed ears and a long nose almost shaped like a beck that pointed several inches away from his face. His black eyebrows were massive and his eyes were even worse, seemingly popping out his head and the veins in his eyes popping out as well. He had a massive grin on his face but it almost looked forced on his face. While the top half of his body was short his legs were long and skinny, making up the majority of his body. His legs were so long in fact they pushed out from the floor and beyond the desk. He wore a black suit with a white handkerchief in the breast pocket along with a pair of white gloves.
The man gestured out to Joseph from his desk, "Trickster… Welcome to my Velvet room."
Hello there! Thanks for reading my first ever story. If you have any questions, critiques, or simply want to tell me something please feel free to leave a review. Again, thank you very much for reading my story!