Chapter Text
Beep… Beep… Beep
With his eyes still closed, Josuke grabbed the alarm clock on the nightstand and threw it against the wall. Yes, he knew he shouldn't do that, but it was quicker than looking for the snooze button. He would fix it later anyway.
With a satisfied sigh, he rolled over. But he had a strange feeling, as if he was forgetting something important… and he immediately sat up. Today was his graduation, for fuck's sake! He jumped out of the bed and knelt beside the alarm clock. Crazy Diamond quickly put the pieces back together. The screen read seven am and Josuke let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't late and, more importantly, he had time to fix his hair perfectly. It was a bit embarrassing, but he was excited for his graduation. During everything that happened with Kira, his grades had plummeted and he wasn't even sure he would pass the exams at the end of the year. But here he was! And hopefully on his way to medical school if all went well.
His phone suddenly beeped while he was finishing to comb his hair. He looked at the message that read 'I'm outside' and cursed. After putting on his suit and taking a quick last look in the mirror, he ran down the stairs and opened the front door. A black car was parked in front of the house and, leaning against it, Jotaro was looking at him with an amused face.
"Did you have problems waking up?"
"N… no" Josuke stuttered.
"Very convincing. Come on, get in".
Josuke opened the back door.
"Hi, Josuke" came out the enthusiastic greeting from Jolyne.
She was wearing a green dress with butterflies (for some reason, she loved those bugs) and looked completely overjoyed to see him. Josuke felt the same way, of course. Since Jotaro and she lived in Florida, he didn't see them as often as he'd like. He really appreciated that they had made the effort of coming to his graduation.
"Hey, Jolyne".
"You look weird" the kid said, pouting.
Josuke looked down at his clothes frantically, thinking they had been ruined in his haste to be in time.
"She's never seen you in a suit, that's all" Jotaro assured him.
"Oh, ok. Wait, are you laughing?"
"Yes".
"You have no shame, laughing at your poor uncle in such an important day".
"You're graduating, not going to war".
"Yes, but it's like… What after that? What if I don't get into medicine? What if I don't get into any uni? Maybe my high school is full of dumb people and the level will be super…"
"Josuke, calm down. The criteria to get into university is not different. Otherwise, no one would get in. And even if you have a bad day during the exams, there's always next year. The world doesn't end at seventeen, contrary to what you may think".
Josuke released a sigh. He was so glad Jotaro was there. Since he was a kid, whenever Josuke was really worried, Jotaro would give him his opinion in the matter, and it was usually good. Josuke felt he could tell anything to his nephew (which yeah, it was still weird to say). His phone beeped again and he looked at the screen.
"Who is it?" Jotaro asked.
"My mom. She says she will get in time to the graduation. His boss changed his mind and let her out early".
"Good".
"..."
"...."
"Jotaro?"
"What?"
"You didn't threaten my mom's boss, right?"
"Of course not".
"Thank god".
"I only had a small talk with him. He's also going to raise Tomoko's salary. It was a bit low for Japan minimum wage".
"I swear I don't know whether to thank you or kill you".
"You can decide later. We're already here".
Josuke realized Jotaro was right. They were right in front of his high school. As expected, all the students were wearing fancy clothes. It felt weird after seeing them in uniform everyday. He got out of the car, Jotaro and Jolyne beside him.
"Wow, this looks different from my school" Jolyne said in awe, looking around. "Oh. Daddy, did you study here too?"
"I studied in a Japanese high school, just not this one. Come on".
Jotaro grabbed Jolyne by her waist and sat her on his shoulders. Jolyne laughed, delighted with the height. No wonder, Josuke thought, Jotaro is a fucking giant. Yeah sure, Josuke had inherited some of those genes, but he still wasn't as imposing as the rest of his paternal family. Speaking of which…
"Where's dad?"
Jotaro let out a long suffering sigh.
"His plane landed an hour ago. He should have taken a taxi like I told him. But who knows with that man. I should probably text him. Oh, nevermind" he added when he saw the taxi that had just parked at the entrance and Joseph getting out of it.
"Dad!"
Josuke ran towards the car and hugged Joseph, careful not to use too much force.
"Oh, Josuke. Are you taller?" Joseph asked, looking at his son with wonder.
"Dad, that's impossible. It's only been a couple of months".
If anything you've gotten smaller Josuke thought with sadness. Seeing his father's decline in health had been a hard blow, but he had always known it would eventually happen. As a kid, people had often confused his father (even though he didn't look his age back then) with his granddad when they walked together. At first he didn't understand it, but it didn't take a genius to see the fathers of his classmates were different. Their hair wasn't grey and they didn't have wrinkles.
It was still hard, though, knowing he would enjoy much less time with his father than others did. It had been even more reduced lately as Joseph's health didn't allow him to travel constantly from the US to Japan like he usually did when Josuke was little. But it was okay. Joseph was the best father he could have asked for. He could only be glad for the time they have together.
"Where is Tomoko?" Joseph asked.
"She's working, but she'll arrive later".
The answer came out a bit sharper than he wanted to. It was enough to raise the alarms of his family.
"Are you okay?" Jotaro asked him.
"Yeah, sorry. I've just been feeling a bit… off".
"Well, it's your graduation" Joseph said. "It's normal you're nervous".
"It's not that. It's like… I feel like there's something I should remember. But I don't know what, I've checked and I took everything I needed with me".
He didn't miss the exchange of looks between Jotaro and his father.
"What?" Josuke asked.
"Nothing" Jotaro replied quickly. "It's probably just nerves. Maybe you'll feel better if you see your friends".
"Oh, right! They must be around here! I'll see you later, guys!" Josuke yelled, running away.
Koichi and Okuyasu should have already arrived, but the high school was huge! Josuke sighed. He really wished he had one of those expensive new cell phones right then. Life would be so much easier.
After ten minutes of searching, he saw Okuyasu standing in front of one the classes, trying to squirm away from his brother without much success.
"Keicho, my tie looks fine. Stop!"
"It looks as if a five year old made it. I fixed it this morning, how the hell did you fuck it up?"
"Well, maybe wearing like this is cooler, it gives me panache".
"Oku" Keicho said, with a deadpan look. "Do you know what panache means?"
"Of course…"
"He doesn't" Josuke interrupted.
Knowing those two, they could be arguing for hours and Okuyasu wouldn't even graduate, so Josuke decided to intervene.
"Come on, dude" Josuke said to his friend. "As cool as you look, the principal will scold you if you're not dressed properly".
"Fine" Okuyasu gave in with a god to honest pout.
"Why do you listen to him and not to me?" Keicho asked, looking profoundly offended.
"Because your decision making is questionable".
"Hah?"
Well, Okuyasu had a point. Keicho had once tried to kill Josuke and even shot Koichi with a goddamn arrow. Actually they all almost died that day because of that Red Hot something freak. Thankfully Jotaro had arrived in time. Josuke never knew why, but Jotaro got super paranoid after his sixteenth birthday and gave him a cell phone (which he promptly took off him after the year passed). Well, nevermind, it had come in handy back then.
He had to admit that Keicho was making an effort to change, though. Since the Speedwagon Foundation was trying to help his dad go back to normal, he took a full-time job working as an assistant at Tonio's. Bad Company was perfect for making meals quicker.
Some nights Josuke dreamt of what would have happened if Jotaro had not arrived that day. He would see Keicho hanging on the electricity posts with so much detail it almost seemed real.
"Hey, Josuke, are you okay?" Keicho asked. "You spaced out for a minute there".
"Yeah, sorry. I didn't sleep well tonight".
It didn't sound very convincing, but the Nijimura brothers let it pass. Josuke was glad, because he had a growing headache and he didn't feel in the mood for talking. Was he really like that for a stupid graduation? It wasn't such a big deal, after all.
Walking back to the first floor, they saw Koichi with Yukako beside him. Josuke sighed. He hoped he wouldn't have an argument with the woman, as usual.
"Excited, guys?" Josuke asked.
"Yes!" Koichi said. "I can't believe we're graduating, it's been a weird couple of years".
"Again, I'm so sorry".
"Keicho, you don't need to apologize again, seriously" Koichi dismissed with a laugh. "It all turned out well".
"Well, not everything" Okuyasu said. "I wish Shigechi was here".
Everyone fell silent at that.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down" Okuyasu backtracked. "It's just that…"
"I know" Koichi replied. "I feel the same. At least we could avenge him".
"Yeah, we managed to defeat Kira and break his loop" Josuke encouraged him. "It's not enough, but at least he won't be able to hurt anyone anymore".
"Yeah, you're right" Okuyasu said. "By the way, what did you mean about break his loop?"
"Oh yeah, I was also going to ask you, Josuke" Koichi told him.
Right, what had he meant? Kira's Stand allowed him to create all sorts of explosions, and that's it. Thank god because only that ability had been terrifying. But had not been there something else? He remembered the rain, the terrifying doom because Kira was going to blow them over and over again…
A sharp pain went through his head and he doubled over.
"Josuke, are you alright?" Koichi asked.
"Yeah, I'm alright" but he really wasn't because the feeling was still there and he needed to get away. "I just have a nasty migraine. I'm going to the toilet one moment".
"Do you want us to go with you?" Okuyasu asked.
"No, thanks".
Josuke ran to the bathroom, ignoring the worried looks of his friends and not caring either. With trembling hands, he opened the door and locked himself in one of the stalls. The feeling of having to remember something was more intense, to the point he wanted to pick his his brain and scratch, scratch and scratch until there was nothing left.
Was he going crazy? Maybe this was what a mental breakdown was like. But, why? His life was pretty good. He had great friends and parents, didn't he? But he used to watch other people's fathers with envy when he was a kid.
Wait, no, he didn't. His dad had raised him. Sure he had not been around for the first five years, but Josuke had been too young to remember. He only knew that because his mom had let it slip one day. But still...
Josuke screamed. Maybe he was going crazy after all.
Jotaro looked around. He had left Joseph with Jolyne in the hall where the ceremony would take place while he went to get Josuke. Something was off with the teen. He had noticed since he picked him up this morning. Josuke was distracted and anxious, and Jotaro knew something as trivial as a graduation wouldn't have that effect on him. He just really hoped it wasn't what he was thinking. Then, he spotted Josuke's group of friends standing by the corner and he released a sigh of relief. Surely they would know where Josuke was.
"Hi, guys" Jotaro greeted them. "Have you seen Josuke?"
The exchange of worried looks made Jotaro frown immediately.
"He's in the bathroom" Koichi replied. "He wasn't feeling well".
"Yeah, he said he had a headache" Yukako added. "I dunno, he was weird today".
"Weird how?"
"He was spacing out" Keicho explained, "and he also said something that made no sense".
"Yeah, he said something of a loop and Kira" Yukako said. "What was up with that?"
Jotaro kept his expression neutral, but a feeling of dread was growing inside him. So the moment had finally come. He wondered what would happen. Would Josuke go back to hate him? He had tried his best, these past twelve years, to correct the mistakes of his other self. To make Josuke feeling that he belonged, that he was family. But maybe some failures could never be erased.
He turned around without even a goodbye to the group and walked towards the bathroom.
"Jotaro, wait!"
Okuyasu ran to catch up with him.
"Man, you're fast" the teen said, panting.
"Look, Okuyasu…" Jotaro began, not having time to lose, but the teen cut him off.
"Do you think Josuke is starting to remember?"
"Probably, yes. How was it for you again?"
Okuyasu hummed, going back one year ago.
"It was gradual. I started having these weirdass dreams, and feeling like things didn't add up".
"Did you have any type of trigger?" Jotaro asked.
"Probably Keicho. It happened soon after you saved him".
"I guess that makes sense. But why would Josuke start to remember now, of all times?"
"Who knows? It might just be stress or…"
"Or what?"
"Well, he's been worried for Mr. Joestar lately".
"Ah, fuck".
"Jotaro, I know what you're thinking, but it will be okay".
"How can you know that?"
"Because I've seen how different you are now, and Josuke also knows. Now go get him".
"Don't you want to come too?"
Okuyasu shook his head.
"I think it's better if you go alone. I'll talk to him later".
Jotaro nodded and rushed to the bathroom. As soon as he opened the door, he could hear sounds coming from one of the stalls. He had Star Platinum hold the door of the bathroom so no one could enter. Few times in his life he had felt so nervous as when he entered the stall.
Josuke was sitting down on the floor. His usual carefully brushed hair looked like a nest of birds and his eyes were puffy and red rimmed from crying. He seemed to have gone through the worst of it, but tears were still running down his cheeks. Jotaro sat down beside him slowly, as if Josuke was some wounded animal that he was trying not to scare. They were in silence for what seemed like an eternity, only broken by Josuke's occasional sob. Jotaro thought of a thousand things he could say, but they all seemed utterly wrong because really what could you say in this situation?
"Sorry" Josuke said suddenly. "I don't know why I'm crying".
"Well, I understand it must be quite a shock".
"Not really, it's not like it's new. It's more… like a gap I didn't even know I had has been filled".
"I see, and do you feel better or worse?"
"I don't know yet" Josuke shrugged. "I only know having two different sets of memories is confusing, but I'll get used to it. I have to".
"Mmm".
Suddenly Josuke burst out laughing. His unexpected change of mood left Jotaro with a perplexed expression. Maybe Josuke was more affected than what it looked like.
"Jotaro, will you stop looking at me like I have been replaced with a clone? It's true that the memories of my previous life are never going to change. But these past 17 years are equally important to me".
"Really?" Jotaro asked and he hated how insecure he sounded.
"Yeah, I actually want to thank you, Jotaro. For always being there for me".
"Well, you helped me and I helped you" Jotaro, replied yanking his hat down. "That's how families work".
"Yeah, you're right".
The teen smiled and wiped the remaining tears off his face. He looked better (at least not on the verge of a panic attack). Jotaro was still not sure, but it was true he couldn't pinpoint anything blatantly wrong with Josuke. The resentment would probably follow later when Josuke had time to assimilate everything. Already resigned, Jotaro got up.
"Ok, so let's…"
"Wait, wait".
Josuke grabbed him by his arm, something he would have never done when Jotaro first met him, all those years ago in Cairo. And just like that, Jotaro's doubts were put at ease. Because it was normal for Josuke to say something and feel the opposite. With him, the gestures were what counted at the end of the day. And this was a familiar one.
Jotaro turned around, trying to keep the relief from showing on his face. He was probably failing miserably, but he didn't care all that much anyway.
"What, Josuke?" he asked.
"What do you mean with what? What about Kakyoin, and Avdol and Polnareff? You've never told me anything about them!"
"Of course not. We all agreed it was better if I didn't mention them, in case it might trigger you".
"Oh come on, Jotaro. I'm fine".
"Well, sorry for being worried. Anyway, they're always asking about you, I'll give you their numbers so you can call them".
"That would be great! Where are they? What are they doing?"
"Ask them yourself" But Jotaro quickly gave up upon Josuke's eager look. "Good grief, okay. Avdol is working for the Speedwagon Foundation, Kakyoin is living in Tokyo as an illustrator and Polnareff is in Italy".
"Italy?"
"Yeah, he's with Giorno".
"What, really? How is he?"
"They're both fine. Predicting the shitty childhood Giorno had, we tried to find him. It was impossible because the fucking kid forgot to mention that Giorno is not his birth name".
Josuke looked amused at Jotaro's anger though he could only guess how frustrating it was at the time.
"Haruno Shiobana, I swear to fucking Christ" Jotaro mumbled and then sighed. "When we heard rumors about a Giorno Giovanna appearing in Naples, Polnareff went to investigate. They met and it immediately triggered Giorno's memories. God knows how that went. I'm glad I wasn't there to see it".
Suddenly Jotaro's phone started ringing. He looked at the screen and sighed.
"Speaking of…"
"Is it Giorno?" Josuke asked.
"Well, I did text Polnareff about you earlier. He's worse than an old lady".
The teen was amazingly quick stealing Jotaro's phone and answering the call.
"Ciao, Jotaro".
"Giorno, it's Josuke!"
"Oh, I see, so you really got back your memories?"
"Yes! How are you?"
Giorno laughed. It was different from the other times Josuke had heard him. He sounded very… carefree.
"Never change, Josuke. I should be asking you that question. I know it can be really jarring to regain all your memories of a previous life at once".
"Well, yes but I'm more interested in you".
"I'm fine. I… Wait a minute. Fugo, non urlare a Narancia! I metti giù la forchetta, porca puttana!"
"Are you okay?" Josuke asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's a bit chaotic here sometimes. Too many people together, I guess".
"Are you living with your friends?"
"Yeah, and Polnareff too. It's a big mansion, so there's enough space even if some people behave like children".
Josuke tried not to laugh. Giorno sounded like an annoyed big brother.
"Oh, are you okay?"
"We are all fine. We already knew about Diavolo's Stand, so it was much easier to defeat him. Getting stabbed with an arrow hurt the same, though".
"Ah, I see. So you're, you know, il capo now".
"Wow, you've seen too many gangster movies, right?"
"Sorry, I'm not familiar with mafia terms".
"Thankfully. And yes, I'm the boss now".
Josuke still had to get used to the idea that he was friends with the boss of the Italian mafia.
"I understand if that makes you reluctant to talk to me" Giorno said.
"No, not at all! I was actually going to ask you if we could see each other someday. Maybe I could go to Italy or you could go to Japan, whatever you like the most".
"Oh".
Josuke sighed. How could this man still sound so surprised when people wanted to be his friend?
"So what do you say?" Josuke asked.
"Yes, I'd love to. I'd like to pay a visit to your famous Morioh actually. I didn't have the chance to visit it properly during my short stop there".
"Great! You should bring your friends too, I would love to meet them".
"I hope you know what you signed up for" Giorno said with a chuckle. "Hey, Josuke".
"What?"
"You can talk to me whenever you want if you need".
"Thanks, Giorno. To be honest, I feel just incredibly lucky for having this second chance. Not many people get one".
"Yeah, I know. Sometimes I think this is a dream that's going to vanish at any moment".
"Well, don't. This is quite real and we both deserve it, and don't argue with me" Josuke said, anticipating Giorno's protest.
"Josuke" Jotaro said. "You can talk to Giorno later, you still have your graduation".
"Fuck! Right, I'm gonna be late. Sorry, Giorno".
"Oh,you're graduating? Well, don't let me keep you, enjoy".
"Thanks!"
Josuke hanged up and got up from the floor of the bathroom, realizing now how gross it was. He turned toward the basin and looked at his messy hair in the mirror, horrified.
"Oh, no! I had worked so hard on it" Josuke then took a deep breath and released it. "Ok, don't panic, Josuke. There must be some way of fixing this".
"You better find the way in the next ten minutes. I didn't fly my ass all the way here for you to miss your graduation".
"Fine, fine".
Well, this is going to be a chore, Josuke thought with a sigh. He turned on the faucet and started to work.
"Josuke?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you hate Joseph now?"
Josuke kept working on his hair while he looked at Jotaro through the mirror.
"Not at all. My feelings for him have not changed. I already told you, Jotaro. These past 17 years matter".
"I see".
"This is about Jolyne, right?"
"Someday she'll regain her memories" Jotaro commented.
"And I'm pretty sure that day she'll appreciate even more what an awesome dad you are".
Jotaro frowned, not convinced at all. Josuke flicked back his hair and turned off the faucet.
"Jotaro, trust me" Josuke put a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "This time, I know better".
Josuke laughed at Jotaro's pessimistic expression. Well, he would see it for himself in a decade.
"Come on, let's go" Josuke said. "Don't wanna be late".
"You're damn right".
They both walked into the hall. Most of the seats were already filled with family members. Josuke saw his parents in one of the middle rows, engaged in a friendly conversation.
"Mom, dad!"
Joseph and Tomoko immediately interrupted their talk.
"Oh, Josuke, you look great!" his mom said.
"You've really become a young man" Joseph added.
"Ok, stop. You two are making me embarrassed".
Both of their parents chuckled at Josuke's blush. Which was so unfair, both of them ganging up on him like that.
He wouldn't change it for anything.
"Love you both, I gotta go" he said, running down the stairs to the front rows.
He made his way through his annoyed classmates (it wasn't his fault if the hallway was so narrow) until his seat next to Okuyasu.
"Everything ok, bro?" Okuyasu asked.
Josuke looked back at where his family was and he smiled.
"Yeah, everything is great".
And, for the first time in two lives, he really meant it.