Chapter 2

Joseph blinked for a moment. Unsure of what this person was saying. "I'm sorry what did you call me?" Joseph asked gripping the iron bars of his prison. "And where the hell am I? Who are yo-" Joseph began to shout before being interrupted by the sound of banging metal.

One of the blond twins had slammed her baton on the bars of the cell in an effort to silence Joseph. "Oh, I see you've come too inmate. You're a lively one aren't you?' The twin on the right said, her voice dripping with attitude.

"The you in reality is currently fast asleep." The twin on the left said, his was voice a bit more robotic and almost melancholy. "You are only experiencing this as a dream."

Joseph leaned in between the bars trying to fit his head through, "I don't know what the hell is going on but I'm getting out of here!" He shouted trying to twist his body in order to get through the bars of the cell. But despite his best efforts he couldn't get his body through.

The twin on the right slammed the bars again, "You're in the presence of our master. Stand up straight!" She shouted pointing her baton at the older man sitting at the desk.

"Welcome. I am delighted to make your acquaintance." The old man at the desk said, his voice deep like a dark trench. It almost seemed to echo through the room and even into Joseph's very being, shaking his insides which each word. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It is a room only that only those who are bound by a 'contract' may enter."

"I am Igor, the master of this place. Remember it well." Igor said tapping his long-gloved fingers at the desk.

"Hi Igor I'm Joseph Joestar and when I get out of here I'm going to kick your ass!" Joseph said in a calm matter before getting riled up and trying to grab Igor through the bars of the cell.

"I know all about you Joestar and your role in this world. I wish to speak with you about important matters. It involves your life as well." Igor said chuckling slightly.

Joseph stopped for a moment, he pulled his hands back and looked at Igor. Sweat began to form on the back of his neck. Joseph was good at reading people, it had always been a good trick of his. This time… he couldn't tell anything. The man moved with such nonchalant that Joseph couldn't even tell if Igor even had any emotions.

Joseph gulped, "My life? What are you going to do with it?" He asked hoping to get more information out of Igor. Hopefully he could find some sort of weakness in Igor and use it to escape his cell. Maybe poke his pride? Make him so angry he sees red? For now, Joseph would have to sit back and play things safe.

"Though I must say I am surprised…" Igor continued looking around the room ignoring Joseph's question. "The state of this room reflects the state of your own heart. To think a prison would appear as such. Thing again, maybe a prison is more appropriate for one of the Joestar's."

Joseph tilted his head in frustration. He couldn't make heads or tails of this man. What is he going on about? What did he want from Joseph? Why did he have such a fixation with his last name. He admitted it was a bit odd but not enough to lock him up in a prison with no explanation for.

"In the near future, there is no mistake that ruin awaits you." Igor continued.

"Ruin? What kind of ruin?" Joseph asked feeling himself sweat more and more, losing his calm composure.

"I speak of the end to everything. However, there is a means to oppose such a fate. You must be 'rehabilitated'. Rehabilitated towards freedom…" Igor said trailing off at the end of his sentence. "That is your only means to avoid ruin."

"I wonder. Do you have the resolve to challenge the distortion of the world? Or will your fate bring you nothing more than you deserve?" Igor asked stretching a hand forward towards Joseph, waiting for a response.

Joseph blinked. And then blinked again. He couldn't understand any of it. What was Igor talking about? Was he about to be killed? Was Igor testing him? If he gave a wrong answer would he be left to rot for the rest of his life? In times like these Joseph knew he could only do one thing, stand up and show no fear. If he was gonna die, then he was gonna do it right. "The only thing I know is that I am going to get out of here. I will avoid this whole ruin thing and when it's all over? I'm going to kick your ass." Joseph said smirking.

Igor began to chuckle loudly. "How interesting. It seems the will of the Joestar burns bright in your heart. Ah, ponder me for not introducing the others."

As if on cue the two twins turned on heel and stood up straight as if they had been given a command by a superior. "To your right is Caroline; to your left, Justine. They serve as wardens here."

Caroline laughed, "Hmph, try and struggle as hard as you like."

"The duties of wardens are to protect inmates. We are also your collaborates. That is… if you remain obedient." Justine said interrupting her twin.

"I shall explain the roles of these two at another occasion." Igor said. "Now then, it seems the night is waning… It is almost time."

"Time? Time for what?" Joseph asked. He wasn't expecting an answer at this point but he at least had to try with the cryptid Igor.

"Take your time to slowly come to understand this place. We will surely meet again, eventually…" Igor said before the sound of a ringing alarm echoed through the small room. To Joseph it almost sounded like the ringing of an alarm bell.

"Time's up. Now hurry up and go back to sleep." Caroline said grabbing Joseph's attention.

"Sleep? You expect me too…" Joseph began to say as he felt his body become heavy. His eyes began to waver as his knees became weak. He slowly laid down on the metal bed, unable to hold himself up anymore. He tried to stay awake but his eyes became heavy. Soon his eyes were closed and his whole world blacked out.

4/10/17

Joseph woke up in a cold sweat. He slowly rose from his bed as he looked around. No cell, no chains around his wrist, and especially no creepy old men threatening him with the end of his life. Joseph looked at his wrist for a moment. They felt heavy and chafed a bit. Perhaps he had slept on them wrong?

Joseph sighed and jumped out of bed beginning his morning stretches. While he didn't like to work out too often he thought it was important to do daily stretches, just to stay healthy. After finishing his stretches, he made his way to the bathroom and got into the shower. He began him morning routine all the while thinking about what had happened to him.

The jail felt to real to him. The cold air on his skin, the chains that chafed his arms, and he could even remember what the old man had told him. But had it really happened? Where did he go last night? How did he get there? Would he go back any time soon?

His experience in the jail cell was starting to put him into a bad mood. His brain fumed with ideas as he got dressed in his school uniform. It was the same as the one he had worn yesterday except this time he wanted to wear his lucky scarf. His lucky scarf was stripped green and yellow, reaching down to his waist. He had gotten his scarf from Granny Erina and wore it whenever he was feeling bad or nervous. After last night and what he had went through? The scarf seemed appropriate.

Joseph was lacing up his boots on the bed when Sojiro walked into his room and found him scowling. Sojiro sighed, "Don't tell me you're gonna complain about the bed." He said adjusting his hat.

Sojiro was dressed in his casual clothes. Unlike his work clothes, Sojiro put a white button up shirt over his pink work shirt. He wore the same tan pants as before but this time he was wearing white dress shoes. Sojiro was also wearing a white hat with red and blue lines running along the trim. Although Joseph didn't particularly like Sojiro he did like fashion and was secretly impressed by Sojiro wardrobe.

"No, I just wanted to complain about everything else. About my life and my stupid decisions. Oh darn, if only I was smarter, older, and handsome like you Sojiro-san." Joseph said mockingly placing his chin in his hand while looking down in a melancholy way.

Sojiro sighed, he felt like he was going to be a lot of it while Joseph was around. "Please don't give me any attitude today. I'm driving you to school you know. You could as least be grateful." Sojiro said.

"Oh of course. Thank you very much for this once in a lifetime opportunity. I will be forever grateful." Joseph responded still thinking about his night in the jail cell. No matter what he tried, the memory of the cell was in the back of his mind with each word he spoke.

"You know you should be grateful. Your school's pretty far away from here and the transfers are the pain in the ass. You better enjoy the free ride while you can." Sojiro said snapping back at Joseph. "Now come on, I have other things to do today." He said turning around and heading back downstairs. As he descended the stairs Joseph could hear him mumbling, "Sheesh… Men aren't usually allowed in my passenger seat."

Joseph grumbled a comeback about how he couldn't get any women but it fell on deaf ears. Joseph finished tying up his boots and headed downstairs, his school bag in hand. He followed Sojiro to his car which was a small BMW type car. Joseph opened the passenger side and sat down waiting for Sojiro to do the same. After a few seconds Sojiro sat in the driver's seat and started up the car. Within minutes the two were on the freeway heading towards Shujin Academy.

Joseph looked out the window as they drove. Sojiro had neglected to turn on the radio and wasn't much of a fan of the Japanese radio. He preferred classic rock and Japanese radio wasn't going to be playing anything like that any time soon. So as the two drove in silence Joseph leaned back letting his scarf cover his face. As Joseph's world became a yellow and green tint he couldn't help but think back to the day he had gotten this scarf.

It was after he had gotten kicked out of school, for the third time. However, this time was different. Joseph often had a problem with authority causing him to argue with his teachers, but now it was with a fellow student. It was career day and everyone's parents had come to visit, all expect Joseph's of course. Everyone knew had none to show but when the student sitting next to Joseph made a remake about how he was lucky to have no parents Joseph had snapped. He had jumped out of his seat and began to pummel the other student. It took two teachers to pull Jospeh away. Joseph had remained silent the whole trip home, not speaking a word when Speedwagon had picked him up and told him how it was ungentlemanly like to hurt others.

Erina on the other hand had stayed silent. When Joseph was finally he barely lasted a second before breaking down. He ran into his room and locked the door behind him, sobbing to himself. After an hour of crying Joseph came back out to find Erina sitting by the fire with a green and yellow scarf. Apparently, his mother had knitted it for him when he was a baby. Erina thought it was the perfect time to give it to him. So, Joseph took the scarf and sat by the fire for the rest of the night, keeping himself warm with the hand knitted scarf.

Joseph was so absorbed in his memory he didn't even notice the car stop. "We're here." Sojiro said pulling the keys out of the car. Joseph sat up and pulled his scarf down trying to get look at the school, unfortunately they were too far away to get a good look yet. Joseph followed Sojiro out of the car and to the front of the school were Joseph could get a better look.

It was three large building each one made from concrete and connected by bridges that ran along the second story of each building. Of course, there weren't any students walking around but Joseph had a feeling that even if they were it wouldn't be a happy situation. The building looked more like a prison than a school with a stone wall surrounding the school and tiny windows dotted along the sides of the buildings.

Joseph shrugged his shoulders and was about to make his way up the stairs when Sojiro stopped him. "Before we go in there do me a favor and don't give them attitude. I get it, you a kid who hates where they are but Speedwagon had to pull a lot of strings to get you here. Don't make all that hard work go to waste just because you might be having a bad day. Got it?" Sojiro asked crossing his arms and drilling the point home into Joseph's head.

Joseph nodded, "I swear I won't cause any trouble while I'm here." He said crossing his chest like a boyscout.

Sojiro wasn't sure if Joseph was being serious or not but it was a risk he was going to have to risk regardless. "Hmm… come on. I want to get this over with." Sojiro said walking up the stairs and closely followed by Jospeh.

When the two arrived in the building they were greeted by an odd sight. A pair student were seemingly waiting for them. One was a young girl. She was wearing the female version of the Shujin uniform. It consisted of a black halter vest, the same patchwork as Joseph's pants but as a skirt, black pantyhose, and a long-sleeved white turtleneck shirt under the vest. The young girl was also wearing short brown leather boots that went up to her ankles. She had dark brown hair fashioned into a bob cut, with blunt bangs at the end. She also wore a French style hair band that blended in with her hair, making it look like it was a part of her hair itself. She had odd eyes that seemed to be red but upon closer inspection one could argue that they were reddish brown. She wasn't smiling and had a cold like expression on her face, almost mechanical. Her features were sharp, each one drawing the eyes of any passerby. It looked like she was assembled together rather than born.

To the girl's left was a young man with blond hair. His hair was short and unkempt with long strands of hair coming together to stick out of his head. He was wearing the Shujin academy as well but his was buttoned up. However, he had also some modifications to the uniform like Joseph. He wore two fingerless blue gloves with metal studs on the top of each glove. He also wore a long thin headband with tessellated triangles and was adorned with two feathers on each side of his head. His features were very similar to Joseph as he too was rather tall and looked like his face was drawn with thick ink. Unlike Joseph however, most passing girls would stop to get a better look. His green eyes looked like two shining emerald and glittered in the sun. It even looked like his face was sculpted out of stone to resemble the old Greek statues. He also had two odd triangles like marks on his checks. It was easy to call this young man handsome and already Joseph was upset with him. He looked like a playboy and Joseph hated cocky guys who thought they could get any women (Despite the fact that he often flirted with women to no avail, so it could be said he was more jealous than angry).

The two were standing side by side and clearly having some sort of disagreement, "I told you Caesar we have to be polite." The young girl said.

"It makes no sense to me. Why should we have to be nice to some rich boy? The principal could have easily handled this situation by himself." Caesar responded shaking his head.

"That's not the point. We have to make a good impression regardless of where he comes from. With the Speedwagon foundation watching us we need to keep up our school's reputation if we want to keep receiving donations." The girl responded.

The two were oblivious to Joseph entering and using this, Joseph decided to play a prank. "Hello! It's nice they would send two assistants to come pick me up. My bags are outside and please do hurry I have much to do today. And could someone fetch me a sparkling water? I am simply parched." Joseph said waving his hand to fan himself with a smirk on his face.

His prank was not well received as he quickly earned a slap on the head from Sojiro. "Be quiet idiot!" Sojiro hissed through his teeth. "Ignore him, he thinks he's being funny." Sojiro said trying to repair the situation.

The girl blinked several times before offering a dry and weak laugh. "Right… of course a joke." She said not really believing what she said herself.

Caesar on the other hand crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, clearly unamused by Joseph's joke. "Idiota." Caesar mumbled under his breath closing his eyes and shaking his head.

Sojiro coughed, "Anyways, I'm Sakura Sojiro and this is-" Sojiro was saying before Joseph interrupted him by walking up to the girl.

"It's Joestar, Joseph Joestar. But you can call me Jojo any time you like." He said winking at the girl and giving her a sly smile.

The girl was clearly uncomfortable and looked away, "Right, it's…. Nice to meet you." She responded closing her eyes briefly moment and breathing deeply. "I'm Makoto Niijima the president of the student body. This is the vice-president Caesar Zeppeli."

Caesar gave a small bow to Sojiro but neglected to look at Joseph. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"If you follow Caesar he'll show you to the principal's office Sakura-san. In the meantime, I'll be giving you a tour of our facilities Joestar-san." Makoto said seemingly hesitant about the last part.

Sojiro nodded, "Lead the way." He said looking at Caesar who nodded and began walking away closely followed by Sojiro.

For a brief moment the remaining teens simply started at each other. Now alone, neither one was sure what to say next. Joseph was trying to think of a joke and Makoto was simply nervous. She hadn't heard much about Jospeh up to this point. All she knew was that he was a foreign exchange student and had some sort of connection to the Speedwagon foundation. Beyond that, Joseph was a complete mystery to her. "Shall we begin the tour?" Makoto asked hesitantly.

Joseph nodded, "I'll follow you anywhere beautiful." He said trying his best to sound smooth, even adding a wink at the end. However, all this did was make Makoto even more hesitant about Joseph.

"Right…. This way then." She said turning around and heading towards some of the class. Joseph followed behind her with his hands on the back of his head, trying his best to listen to her explanation about the school. If he was honest he wasn't listening, not because she was boring (though that was part of it), his mind was more preoccupied with his dream last night. Again, he wasn't even sure he could call it that. It was too real to be a figment of his imagination. And then there was what Igor had said, how it was a place between mind and matter. Like that made any more sense to him!

"You stopped listening, haven't you?" Makoto asked snapping Joseph out of his deep thought.

"What? No! I was just…. Appreciating the ceiling! Yeah, it's such a nice ceiling." He said trying to convince Makoto but it was clearly a lie.

Makoto sighed, it seemed that there wasn't much point in giving a tour. If that was the case she at least wanted to learn more about Joseph. It was the least she could do as president of the student body. "Well in that case do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Joseph nodded, he didn't have anything to hide really. His life was a open book as far as he was concerned. "Go for it."

"Why did you come here? There must have been other schools correct? Even then why come to Japan at all? You're originally from America are you not?" Makoto began to assault Joseph with question after question, giving him little time to think. In the span of a few second Makoto had turned the situation into a integration.

"That's a lot to cover isn't it? Well…. I guess the best answer I can give to all your questions is that I wanted a change of pace and this seemed like the best option to me." Joseph responded. Of course, this was a lie. Joseph didn't want to be here and the moment his parole was lifted he would never come back to Japan. But he couldn't let everyone know that he was under parole for a crime. His reputation would be ruined even before he started school.

Makoto thought for a moment placing her fingers on her chin. His story was obviously a lie. But Makoto couldn't figure out why. Joseph didn't seem like a bad guy. From the brief time she has spent with him so far, she found out that he was immature for sure, but a bad guy? That didn't seem right. Makoto decided it was best not to push any further. She would have to accept the answer for now. "I see. Well to save us both some time I suggest we simply go back to the main hall and wait for Sakura-san. If you have any questions about the school I'm sure one of the teachers can help you tomorrow." She said.

Joseph nodded, "Good enough for me. Lead the way ." Joseph said jokingly seeing if Makoto would laugh at his joke. To his dismay Makoto only shook her head in disappointment as she leads him back to main hall.

On the way back however Jospeh noticed a rather tall teacher walking up to them. He unkempt black hair with thick eyebrows. His face was rather square with a broad jaw and even bordered shoulders. He was taller than Joseph, but not by much. He was wearing a white t-shirt with black sports trousers with double white lines running along the sides. Beyond that nothing else really stuck out to Joseph and if he had to guess he was most likely a sport teacher of some kind.

"Oh, good afternoon Kamoshida-san." Makoto said but Joseph noticed that for a brief moment Makoto looked away, unable to make eye contact with him. Joseph was good at reading people and it became too clear to him that for whatever reason Kamoshida make Makoto unconformable. "What are you doing here today?" She asked.

"I'm just checking up on some paperwork for the sports festival coming up. Gotta make sure everything is under control, right?" Kamoshida asked smiling and rubbing the back of his head. His gaze then drifted to Joseph. "Hmm? Have we meet before?" He asked confused by Joseph's presence, he was wearing a Shujin uniform but Kamoshida didn't remember a student like this.

"I'm Joseph Joestar. I just transferred here from America this semester." Joseph said giving Kamoshida a basic answer. Based on Makoto's reaction Jospeh knew for whatever reason Kamoshida should not be trusted. So, until he knew why, Joseph was going to be playing his cards close to his chest.

"Oh yeah I heard about a transfer student coming in this semester. Although…." Kamoshida began to say looking Jospeh up and down. "I didn't think you would be so tall! Are you sure you're a high school student?" He asked jokingly.

"Wouldn't be here if I wasn't." Joseph responded still unsure how to treat Kamoshida just yet.

"Well if you're going to be attending school here you should apply for the volleyball team. I'm the coach and we could definitely use someone with your height on the team." Kamoshida said crossing his arms. For some reason Joseph felt that it was more of a demand than a suggestion.

Joseph shrugged his shoulders, "Well if I can find time I'll see what I can do about trying out for the team. Though I'm not much an athlete, I prefer more intellectual pursuits." He said looking Kamoshida square in the eye. Joseph had chosen his response very carefully. He hadn't insulted the team in any way, but did make a point about how he thought it was a waste of his time. Depending on how Kamoshida reacted it would tell Joseph what his weakness was.

As soon as Joseph stopped speaking, Kamoshida's left twitched just for a moment. And to the unobservant eye it seemed nothing more than a muscle spasm. But Joseph understood exactly what it meant. Kamoshida was offended by what Joseph had said. "Well trust me, we have a good time during practice. Just come by to watch. I'm sure we can convince you to join." Kamoshida said pushing the subject more.

Joseph smirked inwardly. Within the span of a few minutes Jospeh already knew what Kamoshida was about. Kamoshida was clearly a prideful man who didn't take no for an answer. Telling Kamoshida that he wouldn't join the team clearly upset him. Jospeh now understood why Makoto looked away from Kamoshida. No doubt Kamoshida had butted heads with Makoto at some point over something. Based on the way Makoto had looked at Kamoshida, he had won whatever argument they may have had. "I'll try to remember that. Now if you don't mind we have to be somewhere don't we ?" Joseph said looking at Makoto.

Makoto looked at Joseph for a moment clearly annoyed but then quickly understood what Joseph was trying to do. "That's right. We better meet up with everyone else. Please excuse us Kamoshida-san." Makoto said.

Kamoshida nodded, "Alright then. Don't let me hold you back. I'll see you both tomorrow then." He said walking past Joseph and Makoto and further down the hallway.

As soon as he was gone Joseph frowned. "Bit of an arrogant prick, isn't he?" Joseph asked.

Makoto gasped and then frowned. "You can't be saying things like that to teachers here. Kamoshida is a former Olympian and his volleyball team is famous throughout the country." She said defending Kamoshida albeit hesitantly.

"Hmp, doesn't mean he isn't a arrogant prick." Jospeh let out a deep sigh. "Come on, let's just head back and wait for the others."

Makoto nodded and continued to lead Jospeh back to the main hall. While they walked Makoto was forming a new opinion of Joseph. Yes, he was rude. Yes, he was immature. But, she had never seen anyone stand up to Kamoshida like that. She heard that a second year named Ryuji had gotten into a fight with Kamoshida but according to Kamoshida Ryuji had started the fight. Deep down Makoto didn't believe it. She had received a few reports about Kamoshida when she first became president. She had also heard terrible rumors about Kamoshida inviting young female students to… 'private' training sessions. Just when Makoto was starting to build a case against him, all of the complaints suddenly stopped and the ones who had filled them quickly went back on their word.

Without enough evidence or any witnesses Makoto couldn't do anything and gave up on Kamoshida. She wanted to do something to help her fellow students but what could she do? Kamoshida was a teacher and she was nothing more than a student. Makoto was so deep in thought she suddenly felt Joseph pulling her back.

"Hey let go of me!" She shouted turning around and shaking loose of Joseph's grasp. She wanted to slap Jospeh here and now. How could he possibly justify grabbing her like that!

"Hey calm down!" Jospeh shouted back. "Why don't you look in front of you." Joseph said pointing in front of Makoto.

Makoto turned back and looked in front of her. She inches away from one of the glasses door leading into the courtyard. She was so deep in thought she had forgotten where she was. Like an automated machine she had just keep going without thinking. Makoto let out a small cough. "Oh… um… thank you." She said not looking at Joseph as she quickly opened the door and headed into the courtyard.

Joseph crossed his arms. Just thanks? Joseph was going to let her run into the door at first. It would be pretty funny to see the class president running into glass like that. But as much as he wanted to see that he also wanted to make a good impression. She didn't have to scream at him though! Joseph shook his head and followed Makoto into the courtyard and eventually back to the main hall.

When the two arrived back in the main hall they were greeted by Sojiro and Caesar. Behind them were two adults. One was a very round man with a cheap yellow suit. Joseph was confused to how this man was even still alive with how big his head was, it looked like his chin had melted into his body and was choking him. The other adult was a woman that looked to be in her late twenties, early thirties. She wasn't as tall as Joseph but still rather tall with a slender build. She had dark brown hair that was clearly unkept along with eyes that seemed tired and baggy. She was wearing a yellow long-sleeved shirt striped with white and red horizontal lines, a blue denim skirt, and white kitten heel shoe.

The older gentleman in the cheap suit turned to Joseph. "Ah you must be Joseph Joestar." He said shaking his head.

Joseph nodded. "That's the name my mom gave me." He said smirking a bit at his own joke causing both Makoto and Caesar to inwardly sigh.

"Right of course. I'm . I'm the principal here, it nice to meet you Joestar." He said walking up to Jospeh. "You know when Speedwagon first asked me to take you in I was going to say no. But after seeing your test scores I don't think we can afford to push you away!"

Makoto eyes light up for a moment. High test scores? She hadn't heard anything like that about Joseph. Joseph didn't seem like the intellectual type to her. Heck, she wouldn't have been surprised if he had never been in a library before. But this only confirmed her suspicions. Joseph wasn't telling her the whole truth. He was hiding something and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Anyways this will be your homeroom teacher ." The principal said gesturing to her.

Kawakami nodded with little effort, "It's nice to meet you." She said enthusiastically not even bothering to look at Joseph when she spoke. "Come meet me in the office on the third floor when you get here tomorrow. I'll show you to your homeroom."

"Beyond that if you have any other questions I'm sure both Caesar and Makoto can help. Please do tell Speedwagon were grateful for his donations too when you have a chance." Kobayakawa said almost verbally licking Joseph's boots.

Joseph sneered. He hated people like this. Only thinking about themselves and using the success of other to get by in life. To Joseph, Kobayakawa seemed like a spineless coward and would sell his own mother at the chance to get more power. "Sure, I'll let him know you've been oh so helpful." Joseph said with a hint of sarcasm.

Kobayakawa smiled, "Good, good. Now if you'll excuse me I have to make some phone calls. Please enjoy your time at our school Joseph." He said excusing himself and heading up the stairs. He was closely followed by Kawakami who hadn't even bothered to excuse herself.

Sojiro sighed, "Alright looks like we're done here. Let's head home." He said turning to Joseph.

Joseph nodded. He would do anything to get out of here. Schools pissed him off already but this one seemed like it was going to be a giant pain in the ass. The less time he spent here the better. He put his hands in his pockets and follow Sojiro outside, leaving a stunned Makoto and Caesar in the main hall.

Caesar turned to Makoto. "Well that was a surprise. I've never seen the principal grovel like that." He said.

"Caesar!" Makoto responded. "You can't talk about him like that." She said defending their principal.

"If that wasn't groveling I don't know what is." Caesar responded.

Makoto was about to say something but let it go. Caesar wasn't wrong and it wasn't like Makoto held the principal in high esteem anyways. Regardless she was still trying to process everything. Joseph was a mystery to her. Just when she figured one thing out, ten more questions came up.

"You okay there Makoto?" Caesar asked snapping Makoto out of her own thoughts.

"Yeah… I'm just thinking." She responded weakly.

"I understand. I'm not looking forward for spending a year with that idiota either. According to Sojiro-san he's a pain in the ass back home too. Honestly, I hate guys like that." Caesar said shaking his head at Joseph. To Caesar Joseph wasn't just a moron but an arrogant moron at that. "Well I have to be going now. Want me to take you home?" Caesar offered.

"No, I'm okay. Thank you though." Makoto said shaking her head at Caesar's request. She smiled a bit. Caesar was a good friend and one she could count on. Sure, he had his own rumors about how he treated some of the girls at the school, but Makoto didn't believe them. To her Caesar was her reliable partner and the only one who listened when she spoke. It felt good. "I'll see you tomorrow Caesar."

"Bene. I'll see you tomorrow." He said nodding and heading towards the door and outside, leaving Makoto alone with her thoughts.

For a brief moment Makoto felt more than alone. She felt like something was about to begin. That with Joseph entering the school, it would never be the same. Then again, she could just be paranoid. It was trait she shared with her sister. Sighing deeply, she began heading home hoping that everything would work out.

"Well that didn't seem to bad now did it?" Sojiro asked Joseph as the two walked back to the car.

"Yeah it was like a doctor's visit. Not too bad at all." Joseph responded shrugging his shoulders and his words dripping with a hint of venom. He hated the fact that he had to attend a school like that. Though he had some more thoughts than that. The teachers seemed all but useless to him. His homeroom teacher looked like an overworked slave, the volleyball coach was a self-entitled jackass, and the principal was a bootlicking suck up. All in all? Pretty bad. Though if there was any bright side it was that he didn't mind Makoto all that much. Sure, she seemed a bit stuck up and robotic but at least she wasn't arrogant.

That didn't apply to Caesar though. Throughout his entire visit Caesar didn't say a word to Joseph, choosing instead to ignore him. If anything pissed of Joseph it was being ignored or doubted. He barely even knew Caesar and Joseph wanted to punch him in the face already.

Sojiro sighed, "Just keep your head down and don't cause any trouble. Don't forgot I'm not going to defend you if you get in trouble. You're on your own." He said.

Joseph nodded. It was just like an adult to let other fend for themselves. To them if a kid got in trouble it was their own fault for breaking society's rules. Joseph just wanted to go to bed and forget all about this day. Hopefully tomorrow would be better for him.

As the two continued to walk, suddenly Sojiro's phone went off. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Yeah? No, I'm on my way home…. What is that? Okay…. Do you really need it? Okay, I'll get it on the way home." Sojiro said to the other person on the phone. He quickly hung up and turned to Joseph. "Listen I need to make a quick stop. Can I trust you to head back to the cafe on your own without causing any trouble?" He asked.

Joseph shrugged. He wasn't above getting into any trouble but at the same time he was too tired to cause any. Although now that he had some time he would probably stop by some restaurant or something to get some food. He ate some snacks from his bag that morning for breakfast and was starting to get hungry. "I'll do my best." He responded.

Sojiro shook his head, that would have to do. "Good. Don't take to long getting back now. I want to lock up early and I don't want to wait for you." He said.

Joseph nodded. "Don't worry if I get killed you can close up whenever you want." He said jokingly.

Sojiro didn't even have the energy to respond and simply waved him off as he headed back to his car leaving Joseph alone.

Joseph looked around, in all honestly he didn't know this area very well. He pulled out his phone and began to pull up directions back to the cafe. As he was looking up the directions he noticed a blond head of hair walking on the other side of the street. Joseph looked up from his phone and saw none other than Caesar walking past him.

Joseph smiled, it seemed Caesar hadn't noticed Joseph. Now was the perfect opportunity to follow him. It only made sense to Joseph. If he followed Caesar he could find out how he ticked. Once he had that, Joseph could destroy him next time they meet! Chuckling to himself Joseph began to follow Caesar keeping a good amount of distance between them. Joseph followed Caesar all the way to the train station. Caesar then stopped near the entrance to the underground section of the train station. He then pulled out his phone staring intently at it.

Joseph hid behind a pillar as Caesar began to type something on his phone. If Joseph had to guess he was probably waiting for someone. His girlfriend perhaps? No, Caesar was an arrogant prick. No girl would go out with Joseph. As Joseph began to think about who was meeting Caesar, his own phone beeped.

Joseph pulled his phone out of his pocket and found the eye app back on his phone. Joseph cursed under his breath, of all the times to bother him. As Joseph went to delete the app once more something odd happened. Suddenly Joseph got a massive headache. His head felt like it was going to explode and he fell down on one knee. He gripped his head and closed his eyes tight trying to ignore the pain. As soon as the pain appeared however, it was gone.

Joseph stood up and opened his eyes, happy that the pain was over. As happy as he was that the pain was gone, he was also confused. Everyone around him was gone, not a single soul seemed to remain after he opened his eyes. And then there was his new surroundings. He was underground now, it almost looked like he was in the subway system back home in America. There were differences however, wherever he was it was dimly lit by florescent lights hanging on the wall around him. The air was thick with… something. What it was Joseph was having a hard time breathing, his breaths heavy and long. He seemed to be standing on top of some sort of rails, but the rails looked old and decrepit. Like they hadn't been maintained in years. The rails continued forward down a long concrete hallway, but Joseph couldn't see the other end as it was shrouded in darkness. Overall his surroundings were depressing to say the least.

"Hello! Anyone here?" Joseph shouted hoping to grab anyone's attention. Joseph waited for a moment but received no response. Letting out a sigh Joseph grabbed his bags and began marching forwards down the hallway, unaware of a pair of eyes watching him.

As Joseph walked he began to retrace his steps before coming here. First, he woke up. Then he visited his new school. After that he followed that Caesar kid to the train station and then…. "Argh! This makes no sense!" Joseph shouted throwing down his bags in frustration and rubbing his hair. How the hell did he wind up in some creepy abandoned train station? And where was everyone?

As Joseph fumed he heard a quiet voice behind him. "Lost?" It said causing Joseph to turn around.

The source of the voice belonged to a young man about average height with an athletic build. His hair was long and black, almost glistening against the dim light. He wore a red double-breasted jacket along with dark green pants. On his feet were a pair of thin black boots that went up to his thighs. However, his most standout feature were his eyes that seemed to glow a bright yellow. "I asked you a question. Are you lost?" The man asked once again.

Joseph let out a sigh of relief happy to see he wasn't alone anymore. "Yes! One moment I'm at the train station then I'm here. Crazy right?" Joseph asked picking his bag up and walking over to the man. "I'm Joseph by the way."

"You may call me Strazio." Strazio responded as Joseph walked up him and extended his hand. "What… are you doing?"

Joseph tilted his head a bit in confusion. "Um… offering my hand? I mean I don't know you and all. Just trying to be nice." Joseph said starting to get slightly frustrated at Strazio's attitude.

"You… want to touch me? Me?" Strazio said seeming offended by Joseph's offer.

"Gezze don't need to take it so personally." Joseph said taking his hand back. "Come one man! No need to be so depressed. You gotta smile!" Joseph said now donning a massive grin on his face.

"Come one man. Say it with me. Happy! Joy! Nice to meet you man!" Joseph said now dancing back and forth in place trying to put a smile on Strazio's face. But despite his best efforts Strazio only started onwards not reacting to Joseph. His cold expression quickly brought down Joseph's own joy. "Come on man I-"

"How old are you Joseph?" Strazio asked interrupting Joseph.

"Umm… seventeen…" Joseph answered his question feeling a bit hesitant. Joseph began to slowly take off his bag. Joseph wasn't sure what was going on but he wasn't above smacking a stranger with his bag to get away.

"You're so young! So full of… life." Straizo said smiling as a shine of light blinded Jospeh for a brief moment. Joseph was shocked to see Straizo teeth were pointed like two sharp daggers. "Come, give me your youth!" Straizo said leaping at Jospeh.

Joseph swung his bag as far back as he could and then swung it forwards hitting Straizo with as much force as possible. "Get away you creep!" Joseph shouted as the bag connected with Straizo's face and knocked him back down to the ground.

Straizo laid on the ground for a moment before picking himself up and holding his check where Joseph had struck him. "How… how dare you…." Straizo said trembling with rage. "I'll kill you!" He said as suddenly Straizo was covered in a dark shadow. The only thing Jospeh could still see on him were his glowing yellow eyes. Suddenly Straizo body began to twist and turn in unnatural way as his body became a mass of a black ink.

Suddenly the mass of ink like substance exploded. In its place something new appeared. It was a tall young man with flowing blond hair that reached down to his waist. He was wearing a thin pink velvet shawl that wrapped around his body. Both at the top of head and near the base of his feet were several white flowers with a yellow inside. This new forum began to speak, "How dare you reject my beauty! You don't understand at all! I'll rip the skin from your body until you understand!" This new form shouted speaking with Straizo's voice, however it was deeply distorted.

Joseph began to backpedal. He was to shocked to say a word. He didn't understand anything! What had happened to Straizo? Why was he like this? And why was Joseph so afraid right now? Joseph felt his blood run cold as he suddenly froze in place. He couldn't move a inch. "Stay away from me!" He shouted throwing his bag at whatever had become of Straizo.

His bag flew at Straizo but before it could reach him a sudden gust of wind picked up. The wind was fast and razor sharp tearing Joseph's bag to pieces. "No way…" Joseph said stunted.

"Don't bother running, you can't escape me now!" Straizo voice said through this new form as it waved its hand towards Joseph. As it did so another gust of wind picked up knocking Joseph hard against the wall causing him to cough up some blood. Parts of his body were cut by the wind and even his beloved scarf flew off when he hit the wall.

Joseph fell to the hard-concrete floor knocking the air out of him. His body was screaming his pain as both his nose and mouth began to drip with blood. His vision was blurry as he tried to crawl forward. "Someone… help…." He said weakly to anyone who would listen.

Strazio's new form seemingly glided across the floor stopping in front of Joseph. It slowly reached down and picked him up by the neck. "Now, give me your life!" Straizo shouted as this from's other hand suddenly pierced Joseph's body as it's fingers reached inside of Joseph's shoulder.

Joseph let out a cry of pain at the sudden pain in his shoulder. If things couldn't get any worse he witnessed as the blood leaking out of his new wound slowly travel through the arm of whatever had become of Strazio. One thing was certain, he wasn't human anymore. He was more of a monster. "Oh yes! This is good!" Straizo said as he drained Joseph's blood.

Joseph's vision got worse as he could barely see a thing now, a gray haze now covering everything. With each passing second Joseph felt himself get weaker and weaker. As his vision began to go black he began to whimper something, "No…. Not… like…. This…."

"Stop right there!" A voice shouted as Joseph suddenly felt himself become free of Straizo's grip. Joseph fell to the floor and looked up. Straizo was crying out in pain as his arm was cut clean off.

Joseph looked to the source of the voice and was shocked by what he saw.

Running towards him was a young man dressed in an outlandish outfit. He was wearing a short white jacket along with a pair of striped black and white pants. Under his jacket he was wearing a striped purple and red shirt. On his feet were a pair of pointed white dress shoes with a square one-inch heel. He wore a golden belt around his waist and dangling from the buckle was a small red sun. His hands were covered by a pair of fingerless black gloves with black studs and on his right wrist was a golden watch that seemed to shine in the dim light. Around his neck was a small black bow tie. Wrapped around his forehead was long thin headband patterned with a row of tessellated triangles and adorned with two feathers on each side of the head. On top of his head was a top hat that had a checker pattern of red and black. Covering his face was a thin white mask that point upwards near the ends and downwards near the middle. Under his hat was a small mess of blond hair but it was hard to tell.

"Take this! Persona, Weather Report!" The young man shouted as the air around him seemed to gather together. Behind the stranger something new appeared. The air seemed to turn transparent like clouds and came together to form a muscular humanoid figure. The figure had several smaller clouds surrounding its body and a pair of red vertical like eyes. It's face looked like it was covered by a mask of some kind that had several spike sticking out near the top of it's head.

The stranger in the mask began to breath in deep as his body began to glow with an electric like energy, the air around him cracking slightly. The stranger put his hands together and then slowly pulled them apart. As he did a stream of small saucer like bubbles appeared in the empty space between his hands. "Take this Bubble Cutter!" The stranger in the mask shouted as a sudden gust of wind caused the saucer like bubbles to fly forward at an increasingly fast speed.

The bubble saucer cut through the air as they flew across the room and into Strazio. The bubbles seemed to be sharp like a razor cutting deep into Strazio's skin before popping. Strazio let out a cry of pain as he tried to hold down his new cuts with his single hand. "How… dare you!" Strazio shouted.

"Shut your mouth Shadow! It's over for you!" The stranger in the mask shouted back. The stranger breathed in deeply glowing in the same light as before. Once again, he launched his attack sending several bubble saucers at his opponent.

This time was different however, in response Strazio waved his remaining hand at the bubbles causing a powerful gust of wind to scatter the bubbles. This on for some time with the man in the mask doing his best to send his bubbles to attack Strazio but each attempt was blown away. Soon it was clearly to Joseph that the man in the mask couldn't win like this. The man in the breath was breathing heavily now and the humanoid figure that was behind him was becoming more and more transparent.

The man in the mask held his hand tight as he raised it above it his hand. Opening his hand, he produced a single saucer like bubble that floated gently above his head. The humanoid figure that was behind the man in the mask was now gone. The man in the mask let out a dry breath and went down on one knee, clearly exhausted.

Strazio made his way to the man in the mask. "How dare you cut my beautiful skin. I'll use your life to restore my beauty. I am beautiful and therefore anyone who would attack me is evil!" Strazio said.

The man in the mask smirked. "Hold up now. I wouldn't move another inch now." He said causing Strazio to freeze in his tracks. "Take a good look around you. My bubbles are designed to glide with the wind, all you did was blow them away!"

Strazio looked around and was shocked to find all the bubbles he had thought were popped gently floating above him. "So, what? What are you gonna do now?" Strazio asked.

The man in the mask stood up and brought up a single finger up touching the bubble floating above his head. "Did you know that bubbles are great for reflecting light? Like a camera they can capture light. My bubbles are special not only can they capture Hamon they can also reflect it! So, if I filled this bubble with Hamon where would it all go?" The man in the mask asked.

Joseph didn't understand a word the man in the mask was saying. Hammon? Bubbles? Joseph wanted to say something but his shoulder was already screaming in pain. He couldn't move an inch, only watching as the man in the mask battled Strazio.

Strazio let out a loud roar. "I'll kill you!" He said charging towards the man in the mask, his arm stretched out forwards reaching for his opponent.

"No, you won't." The man in the mask replied as his finger glowed with energy. Suddenly the bubble floating above his head light up and blasted several rays of light out. The rays of light connected with the other bubbles floating around. Within a second all the floating bubbles were reflecting the light and energy! All the beams of light then converged onto Strazio! Strazio screamed out in pain as the beams of energy seemed to pierce his body causing his skin to boil and burn. It was like Strazio was trapped in a ocean of light and slowly burning alive!

After a few second Strazio was burned to a crisp and his form turned black. What was left of his form then came apart and flew off. Now Strazio was back to his original human form. He was gripping several holes around his body that were steaming. "I… I just wanted to be beautiful." Strazio said weakly.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. You best learn that." The man in the mask responded now regaining his composure and strength.

"Maybe… you're right." Straizo said before his entire body went up in smoke leaving behind a small glowing light.

Joseph eyes went wide. Did he just witness a murder? No, people don't just evaporate like that. What was going on? Joseph looked on as the man in the mask grabbed the glowing light putting it in his pocket, causing the light to go out.

The man in the mask then made his way to Joseph. Joseph wanted to do something, anything! What if this man in the mask killed him in the same way? Joseph couldn't die yet! He had so much to do still. Joseph grunted and began to move his body crawling on the floor trying to get away from the man in the mask.

However, his work was all for naught as the man in the mask simply jumped into the air and landed in front of Joseph. Joseph closed his eyes ready for the end. The man in the mask leaned down and looked at Joseph. "Mama mia. You can't be serious." Joseph heard the man in the mask say before Joseph passed out.

Joseph eyes shot open as he looked around. He was back at the train station. More specifically he was in the underground mall. He was surrounded by many different types of shops selling all kinds of wares. Joseph looked around and found the crowds walking around him, like nothing was wrong. Joseph looked at his hands. No dirt, blood, or cuts. Everything was normal, or so it seemed. He looked down at his clothes, the cuts he had received from Strazio were still there. But just like his hands there was no trace of blood. Still, there was one bigger reason why Joseph began to panic. Where was his scarf? He needed his scarf! How was he supposed to get anywhere without his lucky scarf! Then he saw something green and yellow at the end of hallway.

Joseph began pushing his way through the crowd pushing people out of his way. "Outta my way!" He shouted at the people he pushed aside. Finally, he made it to the other end of the hallway and found his scarf. However, his scarf was in the hands of someone he didn't expect.

Caesar smirked and looked at Joseph. "Looking for this?" He asked offering the scarf to Joseph. Joseph wasted no time and snatched the scarf out of Caesar's hand. "What, no thank you?" Caesar asked.

"I don't have anything for you, spaghetti head!" Joseph shouted wrapping his scarf around his neck.

Caesar seemed annoyed at Joseph's comment but not surprised. "What a buffoon. No class nor respect." Caesar said shaking his head in disappointment.

Joseph looked at Cesar directly in the eyes. Joseph began to grind his teeth as his fist began to ball up. "You wanna say that again French boy!" Joseph threatened.

"I'm Italian!" Caesar shouted back now losing his cool. Some passerby began to stop what they were doing and were now looking at the two. Waiting to see who would throw the first punch.

"Really? Are you sure about that?" Joseph responded smirking and sticking his tounge out in disrespect. Joseph was ready for Caesar to make a move. This is how Joseph would win all his fights. Piss off his enemies until they couldn't see straight and then kick their ass. Worked every time. Most of the time.

Caesar was seething with rage. Anyone passing by could feel the animosity and menace radiating from Caesar. Suddenly Caesar's phone went off. Caesar quickly reached into his pocket pulling his phone and answering the call. "What!" He shouted.

There was a brief silence from Caesar before his entire attitude deflated. All his anger seemed to disappear as he was overcome with a sense of dread. "Oh… I didn't mean it like that…. I understand…. No, I just finished up…. There's something you should know…. I'll explain when I arrive." Caesar said having a conversation with the other person on the line.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Joseph shouted annoyed that he was being ignored. His perfect strategy was now blowing up in his face.

Caesar hung up his phone and breathed in deeply. "I don't have time for you. Arrivederci." Caesar said giving Joseph a two-fingered salute and walking away.

Joseph was stunned silent. How dare Caesar walk away from him like that! Just as Joseph was about to shout something clever he felt lightheaded. He fell down on one knee out of breath. He was completely confused. Why was he tired all of a sudden? It was like he had just run a marathon! After a few seconds Joseph caught his breath and rose again. Joseph looked around to see some the passerby still staring at him. "What! This isn't a show! Get out of here!" He barked at the bystanders causing them to disperse and go back to whatever they were doing before.

Joseph let out a deep groan. Overall if he had to rate his day today, it would easily rank near the bottom. Turning on his heel, he began walking towards train readying himself for the earful he would most likely get from Sojiro when he got back. To make matters worse his shoulder was sore. Which didn't help his theory that the crazy place he had gone was simply a dream of some kind. What kind of bizarre life was he supposed to be living with nightmares and daydreams that were trying to kill him? And where was the mask man? Why did he help him? Above all, why was Caesar acting all smug! It made Joseph hate him even more! Joseph decided these were questions for tomorrow. Hopefully he wouldn't have another life or death dream on the way back.