"Girls have to take good care of their hair, you know. Especially Yimi-chan, with hair this nice—pretty hair is the foundation for making a girl look her best!" Holy Kujo lifted Yimi under the arms and carried her to a basin of warm water.
The plant-like Stand that had plagued her was gone. For a woman with only one child—a son at that—this fair-skinned, sweet little girl was utterly irresistible.
"Pretty." Yimi, who'd been squirming in resistance, went still at the word.
Cats loved having beautiful fur.
Taking the transportation provided by the Speedwagon Foundation, the group had returned fairly quickly to Japan—a place that put Joseph in a thoroughly sour mood.
Because his daughter had married a Japanese man, Joseph harbored a blanket prejudice against everything in the country, from the objects to the people.
For instance, if someone bumped into him and he happened to be in a decent mood, the old man would magnanimously wave it off—until he noticed the person's features, at which point he'd ask if they were Japanese. A yes earned an immediate retaliatory kick.
So when Polnareff and Kakyoin invited him sightseeing, he refused without hesitation—and found himself an excuse to stay busy, like dealing with the pregnant women discovered in DIO's mansion.
DIO had been fished out of the ocean four years ago. There was no telling whether he'd left behind other children. If any existed, the eldest would already be around four.
Though DIO had been using Joseph's grandfather's body, his blood still flowed in those children. Without proper guidance, there was no guarantee they wouldn't grow into something like DIO.
"Oh no! It's not like I'm dunking you in whole! Jotaro, help mama out!"
The instant Holy brought Yimi close to the basin, the girl braced both hands against its rim—pure feline instinct revolting against wet fur.
Jotaro closed his book and glanced over. "Quit being so loud, you noisy woman. You're going to pour water into her ears holding her like that."
Yimi still had cat ears, after all.
"Jotaro! How can you call your mother 'noisy woman'?" Joseph scolded.
Holy didn't mind in the slightest. "Jotaro is so observant! I bet he'll make a wonderful father someday. Here, sweetie—cover your ears with your hands."
"Yare yare." Jotaro set his oceanography textbook aside, pocketed his hands, and walked over to see what Joseph was doing. "You done yet, old man?"
"Didn't I say not to worry about it? You're past the rebellious phase, aren't you? I know you're the type who says one thing and means another, but at least show a little respect to your elders." Perhaps because Yimi was nearby, Joseph took the rare opportunity to lecture his grandson. "Listen up. Once a man becomes a father, if he isn't honest about his feelings, misunderstandings pile up fast."
"Don't let appearances fool you—if you or your mother ever need anything, I'll drop whatever I'm doing and be there on the spot. Sounds cheesy, right? But compared to keeping everything bottled up, actually letting the people you love know you care is what makes a real man."
Mid-speech, Yimi yelped and scurried behind Joseph.
"Hm? What happened?"
"I accidentally squirted shampoo on her ear..." Holy sheepishly waved Yimi back over, switching to a coaxing voice. "I'm sorry! Come back, I promise it won't happen again."
Yimi shook out her hair and looked up at Joseph. "I'm leaving."
The System's quest had bugged out and couldn't be completed. Time for the cat to find her next mission.
"Now now, don't be upset. Holy didn't mean to." Joseph patted her head.
Yimi shook her head. "I really am... leaving. Leaving this world."
"..."
Joseph was quiet for two seconds. He rubbed his whiskers. "I see. The Saint's will, is it? Springing this on us all of a sudden... it's hard to let go. I even found a good elementary school for you."
Come to think of it, this child had been aiming for Heaven from the very start. Given everything that had happened, she was clearly a little angel who'd descended to the mortal world to deal with DIO.
He scooped her up in one motion. "Make sure you say a proper goodbye to Suzi-obaachan, you handful of a girl. Now hold still while I attack you with my whiskers."
"Mmph!"
Yimi pressed both hands against Joseph's face.
"Alright, alright, I'm done teasing." Joseph set the girl down and resumed what he'd been doing—Spirit Photography with a camera.
Before DIO's death, any unfocused use of the ability would always point toward DIO by default. Only now that DIO was gone could the ability be considered fully functional.
Yet as he smashed the camera open out of habit—as if every camera in existence had collectively cursed him—a shard of debris sliced across his wrist, and a drop of blood fell onto the slowly developing photograph.
"Papa, be careful!" Holy grabbed his hand.
"It's nothing."
Joseph picked up the photo as the image gradually resolved. His expression stiffened.
"What is it, old man?" Jotaro caught the shift in his demeanor.
"Wait—Jotaro." Joseph tried to hide the photo.
But he was never going to be faster than Star Platinum in Time Stop. By the time he blinked, the photo was already in Jotaro's hand.
"Hm..."
A hospital room. A boy of roughly four or five, back to the camera. In front of him, a worried-looking woman—presumably his mother. From this angle, the star-shaped mark on the back of the boy's neck was clearly visible.
"DIO's firstborn? No—if it were DIO's kid, you wouldn't be panicking." Jotaro narrowed his eyes at his grandfather. "Just a minute ago you were lecturing me about being honest with family. What are you hiding?"
"Ah... well, I might have, uh, met a young woman during a trip a few years back." Joseph's gaze drifted, guilt written all over his face.
"Papa!" Holy stared at her father as though seeing him for the first time.
"What's going on?" Yimi squeezed in beside Jotaro, curious.
"None of your business." Jotaro summoned Star Platinum to pull her aside and clamp her ears shut.
He handed the photo back to Joseph. "If Suzi-obaachan finds out about this, she'll lose it."
"How could you do this!" Holy's voice rose sharply. "Having an affair, fathering a child, and leaving the mother and baby to fend for themselves?"
"I had no idea the child even existed!" Joseph staggered back a step, drenched in sweat. Even having a poison ring planted in his heart during his younger years hadn't shaken him this badly.
"So you're saying the affair itself was fine?"
"Ah... uh..."
"This is unacceptable. No matter what, I will meet them. We should bring them into the family. And don't you dare think about hiding this from Mama!"
Yimi—whose only ears to be covered were the ones on top of her head—tugged Jotaro's sleeve. "What does 'affair' mean?"
Jotaro pressed down on her head. "A word you should never have to learn."
One day.
"DIO..."
Inside a church, Pucci was sweeping absentmindedly, his thoughts scattered.
After reaching Heaven, DIO had swapped back to his own body and healed Pucci along the way. Perhaps in recognition of his loyalty, the Joestars had chosen not to pursue him.
But the friend who had healed him was the enemy of his faith—and had ultimately died beneath the light of that same faith. How could a tragedy this cruel exist? If he spent his days atoning for DIO's sins in this mortal world, would God see fit to forgive them?
"Father..."
While cleaning the priest's confessional, a woman slipped into the booth on the other side.
"No—I'm not the priest. The priest is currently—"
The weight of guilt was too heavy. The woman didn't hear a word he said and launched straight into her confession. "I'm gravely ill. I don't have long. But the sin I need to confess isn't my illness—it's what I did to someone else's family."
Hearing that, combined with the tremor in the woman's voice, Pucci stayed where he was.
"Sixteen years ago, on the fifth of June, I swapped my dead baby with someone else's child. They were newborn twins..."
"I had clung to a scrap of hope about my illness—I never planned to tell anyone. But last night I had a vision. It was as though the Lord Himself was guiding me to come here today, no matter what, and confess."
Pucci's eyes went wide.
June fifth, sixteen years ago. That was his birthday—and the day his twin brother had supposedly died.
As a man of the cloth, he should have locked this secret away forever. And even if the brother were found now, after growing up apart for sixteen years, could they truly become family again?
But the woman had said it herself: she'd received a vision compelling her to confess here today, and she had happened to encounter him. If that wasn't God trying to mend his family, what was it?
A restaurant, somewhere.
"Seriously? What's so great about a juice delivery guy?"
"He looks gross. His dad must be broke."
"Bet he didn't even finish high school before going to work."
Two mean-spirited women gossiped freely about a young man in the distance who bore a striking resemblance to Pucci.
The third friend sitting across from them simply stared at the figure in a daze.
She couldn't explain it. Something about this man just felt... familiar.
While she was lost in thought, a man snatched her bag and walked casually toward the exit, only picking up speed at the door.
"Perla! That's your bag!" The two women finally reacted, shrieking.
A can of soda slammed into the restaurant window, lodging itself just inches from the thief. Before he could process what had happened, a second can struck the first dead-on, punched through the glass, and nailed him square in the head.
"Nice!" The same two women who'd been mocking the delivery boy a moment ago erupted in cheers. And the one who'd thrown those cans was the very man they'd been badmouthing.
"Weather"—that was his nickname. His mother's severe illness had forced him out to work at a young age.
He stared blankly at the window he'd shattered. "Great. I'm definitely getting fired..."
Seeing his actions, Perla didn't go to retrieve her bag. Instead, she walked straight toward Weather.
But someone else reached him first.
"Are you Wes Bluemarine?" Pucci stood before the young man, expression complicated. He glanced at Perla—his most beloved sister.
"My name is Pucci. This may be difficult to accept, but I'm your biological twin brother."
"Ah... hello?" Weather blinked, still processing. He shook the offered hand on reflex.
(End of Volume)
Next Arc: Puella Magi Madoka Magica