𝐄𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝐋𝖎𝖒𝖊𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊

【 Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ ３ 】

I quickly swallow the last of my lunch and quietly rinse my dishes. I then thank my mother for the meal as I discreetly slip on my coat.

"Where are you headed off to so quickly, Anne?" She questions me, putting her hands on her hips.

I promptly tie my shoes as I explain the reason for my haste, "JoJo wants me to see him do some boxing by the local ring. He says he's been practicing and that he's gotten real good since the last time I saw him."

       She quirks an eyebrow, "The boxing ring again? That sounds a little dangerous."

       I purse my lips, then seeing as she isn't changing her mind I let out a sigh of disappointment, "I promise I won't fight anyone this time. I'll only watch."

At this she visibly relaxes. "Good. I give you permission to go," She grabs a plate of shepherds' pie and hands it to me, "Please take this down to your father."

       I take the plate, giving a small nod before I turn around to leave.

       "But if I catch you in that ring again, your workload will be doubled. Understand, young lady?"

I furrow my brow, "Fine. But if they challenge me, they're fair game." I say, chin held high as I enter the narrow stairwell, closing the door with my heel on the way out. I hear my mother's muffled protest as I rush down the stairs and into the bookshop. I'm careful not to bump into any customers while I make my way to the front desk. A smile grows on my face when I see the owner of the store, sitting in his worn leather chair, a stack of books on his desk.

"Annie, where are you headed off to today?" My father asks as he stamps one of the books.

"I'm going to cheer JoJo on as he kicks someone's arse in the boxing ring!" I say with enthusiasm.

He frowns at me, "Anne. I told you not to say things like that in public. Someone might hear you,"

"But the guys say it all the time! How about I just don't say it around adults?" I plead with him.

       He lets out an exasperated sigh, "Oh alright. Go and have fun with your friends,"

I grin at him as I push open the front door to Primrose Books, hearing the familiar chime of the bell as I do so. My father is pretty lenient when it comes to me, except for when we're under the gaze of the public eye. Because of this, all adults see me as a well mannered young lady; refined and polite. My peers however, see me in a totally different light.

I jog over the last gradual hill and see the wooden boxing ring—more accurately a hexagon—in the shallow dip between the other hills. JoJo is waiting with anticipation for his next turn.

At the sound of my heavy footfalls as I run down the hill, Jonathan pulls his attention away from the fight at hand to see me. "Annie! There you are! I was wondering when you'd get here."

"Sorry about that, my family had a late lunch. Have you gotten a turn yet?" I ask, catching my breath.

"Yeah. My last match was with that guy over there," he points at a guy across from us with a few other guys around him cleaning him up.

"Oh wow, you really did a number on him. I'm guessing you won?" He nods, looking a little guilty.

The two guys in the ring continue to shuffle around each other, both exhausted from the duration of the fight. Finally one of them lunges at the other. He tries a lazy attempt at a dodge but fails to evade the attack as a right hook connects with his jaw. The punch may have been a weak one, but the referee said that one hit to the face ends the match, so now the fight is over.

"Alright! Now I can show you how good I've gotten!" He says with excitement, hopping over the fence.

The referee announces the next fighters, "Next up we have, JoJo! He's on a winning streak of 7! Can he be beat? So far, I don't think so!" The boys pump there fists in the air as they cheer him on.

"And his next unfortunate opponent— huh? What's this?" Someone runs up to the ref and whispers something in his ear, "Oh. I see, okay then. It seems we have a newcomer. You know his face, but what of his personality? He dares to challenge our champ, so at least we know he has guts! I give you, Dio Brando!"

Oh, this could be interesting. I don't know how well Dio can box, but from what the referee said and the crowd's reaction I can assume that JoJo is pretty good.

I glance at JoJo to find his confident expression has turned into something close to worry. Has JoJo seen Dio fight before? Or is this reaction due to the fact that he doesn't want to ruin his relationship with the lad. After all, who knows how long he'll be staying with the Joestars.

I turn my gaze to Dio to see if I can pick up any clues. He's pulling on his gloves with a smirk, an evil glint in his eye. His eyes find my own, with same intensity as always. Even though it's simply a look of confidence, no matter what expression crosses his face his eyes hold that same flame of passion. I press my lips into a thin line.

His belief in his ability to win seems legit. From what I can see, this might not end well for JoJo. . . .

The ref holds out his hat and gives it a shake, "We don't play for free here, you have to bet something."

"That's fine with me." Dio drops a generous handful of coins into the hat.

The crowd let's out a collective gasp, their anticipation rising. The ref raises his eyebrows, "Wow! That's a lot! JoJo, will you match his bet?"

The spectators hold their breath, waiting for his response. After some consideration he drops in the same amount, "Yes I will."

He's being pressured. He's already won a few fights before this so he must be tired too. . . this won't be pretty, I think as I inch closer.

The ref gives the signal and the match begins. The two shuffle only for seconds before JoJo dives in with a series of strong, precise punches.

       So much for being fatigued. The previous fights were only a warm up for the actual battle.

       Dio avoids every swing and jab with ease. Shock floods Jonathan's face, but can't afford to hesitate even for moment. He quickly follows up with a few more attempts, each as fast as the last. I turn my attention to Dio and observe his movements.

He moves his feet in a way I've never seen! They move so fast I can't follow them! Did he come up with that on his own?

I continue to watch in amazement. A dull ache grows in my clenched fingers as they squeeze the fence with a death grip. With the level of skill Dio's showing, I'm not sure JoJo can keep up, let alone win.

As JoJo continues what most onlookers are beginning to deem an aimless struggle, Dio pauses to raise his eyebrow at JoJo, "You're certainly better than I expected, but compared to me, you amount to nothing."

He swiftly closes in on JoJo. He can't dodge, or even block before Dio jabs him in the stomach. JoJo coughs, all the air in his lungs forced out of him at once. As he's gasping for air Dio takes the opportunity to finish him.

A left hook connects with Jonathan's jaw. The massive amount of power behind it is evident as JoJo flies backwards. His back hits the wood of the fence with a crack!

     "JoJo!" I stumble as I climb over into the ring, scraping my knee. I scramble to my feet and run to him. "JoJo, are you alright?" I see him holding his eye and gritting his teeth.

"I-I'm okay, it's alright." After a few seconds he puts his hand down but his eye is still squeezed tightly shut.

"JoJo?" I ask hesitantly, "Can you open your eye?"

   The band of boys gather around Dio and praise him, restating cheers such as "he's the best" and that he "can't be beat". This time however, they're referring to Dio. Not Jonathan.

       JoJo slowly opens his eye. It's turned a pinkish color. A small dot of blood slowly grows to the size of a pinhead next to his iris.

       This must have been an accident, right? Though somehow, in the brief time I've known him, it seems that most of what Dio does is deliberate.

"I'm sure that it wasn't on purpose," JoJo assures me, as if reading my thoughts.

My eyes find Dio to see that he's still chatting with his new fans, "It's a new technic I made. Would you guys like me to teach it to you?"

This makes them ecstatic, everyone eager to learn his secret, "Would you really teach us?"

I slowly creep closer to hear the rest of what they're saying, hoping no one will notice.

"Of course I'll teach you, but," he lowers his voice, "Don't tell JoJo. He couldn't keep a secret to save his life."

I grit my teeth. Why is he telling lies about JoJo? He hasn't done anything to make Dio mad, has he? Does Dio have a secret grudge against him?

"I also made these." Dio takes something out of his bag, pulls some sort of string out of it, and then tosses the object onto the ground. It turns out to be a homemade firecracker and makes a small explosion.

       That's actually pretty neat—no! Stop that! I can't become another one of his mindless yes-men.

Dio must have felt my gaze on him as he turns to look at me. He waves me over. I raise my eyebrow, giving him a skeptical expression. Does he actually think I'll go with him now? After he just gave JoJo a black eye?

       "I'll be okay Annie." Jonathan assures me, having seen the exchange. "Go on and have some fun with them."

"And just leave you to be alone? What kind of friend would I be then?" I refuse stubbornly, crossing my arms.

"Annie," He brushes off his clothing and gets up on his own, "What kind of friend would I be if I kept you from having other friends?"

I bite the inside of my cheek, a little unsure of myself at first. Then I start to head over to the others, "Make sure to get that eye of yours checked out JoJo."

       He gives a small nod. The only reason I'm going is because I need to know what sort of person Dio really is. Why is he staying with the Joestars? Why does he have a grudge against JoJo? I can figure it out. After all, I'm as good at reading people as I am at reading books.

"Anne." Dio calls my name and pulls me out off my thoughts. I've fallen behind a little so I pick up my pace and walk a little closer to him, "You we're watching the fight right? Are you impressed?"

Although I don't really want to admit it, "Yes, I am. Have you always been exceptionally fast, or is it a skill you've practiced?"

"Well," he pauses to think, "It's a skill I've picked up from my surroundings." He doesn't explain it any further. I'm curious to know why but something inside me is telling me not to ask.

       The others in the crowd continue to bombard Dio with all their questions and comments. It's amazing how he's already so popular after such a short time, even if it isn't by chance. Dio carefully orchestrated this. All of his lines are practiced snippets of a script that he's written out beforehand. In fact, he's probably already written the whole book.

       This is to be expected. After all, he's a manipulator. To become friends with a manipulator—true friends that is—you need to be impossible to manipulate. An immovable force they cannot control; otherwise they will see you only as a pawn to use as they please.

       I know this because I, too, am a manipulator. I may look like an innocent little girl on the outside, but I've done my fair share of manipulation too. This is what gives me confidence that he won't be able to take advantage of me.

As the group of people around him continues to babble on, each person trying to catch his attention, I think of a way to do so myself. I need to show him that I can't be looked over, otherwise I'll never learn his true colors.

       "So, Dio," I say in a clear voice as I shove someone walking next to him out of my way, taking their place, "What do you enjoy doing in your leisure time?"

He raises his eyebrows, slightly impressed by my actions. "I like to read as you saw the other day. I do boxing, but you know that now too. Hmm. . . I play chess."

Ah, this sounds interesting. "Chess? Are you any good?"

"I'd say so. I used to play it lots at bars and get a fair amount of money betting on it." He tells me, I hear some of the girls "ohh~" and "ahh~" as we keep walking. "Do you play?"

"Oh no," I say, waving my hand in dismissal. "I know how the game works but I just haven't had the time to practice. Playing a chess match with me would bore you."

"Hmm, Really? I get the feeling you could get the hang of it fairly quickly." He says, putting his hands behind his head.

"I'm flattered that you would think that. I'm sure I could too, but as I said before I just never find the time to," I repeat myself.

Another few people find their way in between us, creating a block in our conversation, but this time it's Dio who pushes them away. Other people are still trying to talk to him but most of them are listening quietly to hear what he says.

       Dio takes my hand firmly in his and then continues talking, "I could teach you if you want."

I'm shocked by the offer and his bold action, though it did make sense to not get interrupted again. The fans all jump on the opportunity too.

"Oh, could you teach me?"

"Wait, teach me too! Please?"

He looks at me expectantly waiting for my answer as I try to think of something to say, "Uh, sure. Yeah, I guess so. But it might not be as easy as you think."

"That's fine." He smirks, "I'm sure that anyone who'd learn under me would become excellent in no time. We can discuss the details more on a later date, now doesn't seem like the best time nor the best place to plan private matters."

       His eyes flick to the other boys and the few girls that have collected and a small frown appears on his face. With that he lets go of my hand and the flow of the crowd pushes me back. "See you later, Anne."

"Oh, okay then." I wave at him as he gets further away with the flow of the people. "Hmm. I originally intended on figuring out more. . . I suppose he might have caught on and thus he kept it brief."

       He and JoJo May have some feud I don't know about, but that's between the two of them. I shouldn't meddle anyhow, though I still want to know what the reason behind it is.

I'm interested in Dio. Not because of his outward display, but because I want to know what's underneath it. I find myself smiling silently as I stand alone in the grassy field. This is intriguing. Both JoJo and Dio have captured my attention. Jonathan and Dio, fire and ice.

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A/n: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. School has been brutal lately, and I edited this twice because the first time it didn't feel right.

I hope you liked this! Please vote and comment!

2.7k words  O - O