As the humid morning dawned, the rainy season was already present. In truth, it was one of those days that the Kujo family used to enjoy, especially in regards to Jolyne and her dad.
Giorno and Jotaro were the first to get up, as they were not used to the time of the region they now suffered. They had been able to fall asleep thanks to the heavy flight and a good bath.
"The flight wasn't so bad actually," Giorno said on the phone, sitting in the living room. "Although, I must admit that the time difference is starting to affect me a bit." He rubbed his neck.
"Well, now you know why I hate traveling so far," Mista said from the other end of the line. "But you agreed to take this trip. The old man does appreciate you enough to invite you to his own home or whatever." There was a hint of mockery in his tone.
"He invited you too, Mista." Giorno rolled his eyes, not feeling very pleased with the aforementioned. "And I'm not sure how much he appreciates me. He's been a little tough with me ever since we arrived." The last part was said in a lowered voice.
"He never mentioned it to me. And what are you talking about? Of course, he has so much consideration for you. He almost treats you like a son..."
Behind Giorno came Jotaro.
"Good morning, Giorno," he said with his strong and serious voice, which Mista managed to hear.
"That's Jotaro, right? Tell him he's a malevolent old man and..."
"Mista greets you." Giorno took the phone away from his ear, addressing the man.
"Useless..." Jotaro replied simply.
"He says the same." He returned to the phone. Mista just made a face, knowing very well what the older man had said.
"Agh! Doesn't matter! That old man knows how irritable he is and so do you. What's different about his attitude towards you now? He's always been a pain in the ass, so it shouldn't surprise you."
Giorno checked behind him to see if Jotaro was still close. He did not see him.
"That's not why Mista," he said, lowering his voice and gripping the phone. "It's about his daughter..."
"His daughter?" The dark-eyed young man remembered. "Oh right, his daughter! Whoa, whoa!" There was a mischievous spark in his voice. "Is she hot?"
"Mista, let me finish!" he exclaimed, somewhat exasperated.
"Oh, come on! Just tell me then. I mean, you're not blind, if you know what I mean."
Now that his friend mentioned it, Giorno's thoughts involuntarily headed in that direction.
"Well, yes..." Feeling a little uncomfortable, the color slightly rose to his face. "Jolyne is a very good-looking girl."
"Jolyne, huh?" Mista paused a little, guessing what was happening. "Well, let me guess. You arrived and met his daughter Jolyne, making some kind of contact, and from the way you responded just now, she must be quite the snack. Or am I wrong?" He didn't let Giorno answer. "And with that unbearable old man present, he became upset with you. Did I get it right?" He finished, feeling confident in his conjecture.
"Eh..." Giorno was surprised by how he had broken up the whole event without having been present. "Yeah, that's what basically happened."
"Sometimes, I surprise even myself," Mista said with arrogance and pride. "I know how to understand people, especially you and that mastodon."
"Less so with Trish..."
"She's another story entirely!" He launched with his arm raised, thinking about how difficult that woman was. "Anyway, getting back to the topic, don't let the grumpy Kujo rattle you. He's just a jealous father. Jotaro will be Jotaro, but it's not going to ruin your life or anything."
Giorno let out a small sigh. Yes, it was normal for a man to behave that way when seeing his daughter with another man, and more so when it was someone as complicated as his boss.
"Thanks, Mista. I'll keep it in mind."
"Don't thank me, I figured your visit would be a bit difficult, living with that guy twenty-four-seven, even if it's you."
"He's a good boss and a good man, but I have to admit, he is a bit difficult to live with." Behind him came Jolyne's mom, already dressed and ready for the new morning. "I have to go. Let's talk later."
He quickly said goodbye to Mista, hung up the phone, and got up from the chair.
"Good morning, ma'am," he greeted respectfully.
"Good morning, honey. I see that you and Jotaro have gotten up early," Mrs. Kujo kindly said. "Breakfast will be ready soon. I'm sorry for the delay; we don't usually get up this early."
Giorno looked at the sky through the window and saw that the sun had barely risen. It really was super early.
"No rush, I can wait."
...
In Jolyne's room
She was almost ready to go down and meet her father's sour face.
As she was finishing combing her hair, she looked in the mirror and saw dark circles, barely noticeable thanks to her makeup. Yes, another sleepless night. The previous nights had already been difficult, but it felt even worse now that he was actually there. Then there was that young man with golden curls who she knew little about, causing her to be nervous.
"Well, it can't get any worse."
She was so engrossed in her thoughts and getting ready that she hadn't noticed the sound of something banging on her window for a while.
Confused and suspicious, she parted the blue curtain just as a pebble hit the glass. What was that about? She peeked out and saw familiar pink hair.
"Please, no..." She closed her eyes, hoping it wasn't who she was thinking of. It couldn't be true. She opened them again and revealed herself. The other person celebrated by no longer throwing pebbles.
"Jolyne!" he said in a whispered shout. She finally opened the window.
"Anasui! What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to come while my dad is here," she said exasperatedly, also whisper shouting, just loud enough for him to hear her. "Go away before he sees you!" She waved her hand, motioning for him to leave.
"Jojo, breakfast is ready!" her mom yelled from the stairs.
"I'll be there right away!" she replied before returning her attention to Anasui. She urged with her arms for him to leave. "Go! I have to go too."
"No, wait! Jolyne..." But she was closing the window without letting him speak. "Dammit!"
Inside the house, Jolyne moved downstairs with increasing nerves. What the hell was Anasui doing? The last thing she wanted was more problems with her dad; his being around was no good.
She went to the dining room, where she found her mom and Giorno sitting.
"Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?" Like the loving mother that she was, she leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"Good morning, ma. Well, I guess so." It was clearly a lie. There was no point in telling her that she hadn't been able to sleep most of the night. Then she looked at the blonde, who was already looking at her. "Good morning."
"Good day," he said, bowing his head a little in greeting. Looking at her, Giorno knew immediately that something was wrong with her. He made no comment about it, however.
"Where is Dad?" Jolyne asked her mom, masking her anxiousness well. Mrs. Kujo looked at her strangely.
"He went out for a walk. You know he likes to walk in the morning. Why do you ask?"
The paleness was a little noticeable on Jolyne's skin, but she pretended to only be interested in her dad's whereabouts. She prayed that Anasui had already gone home.
"I was just asking. It's just that he's not here with our guest. You know..."
Not very convinced, her mom replied.
"I see, your father will be back soon. Your breakfast is already served, so you should take it. Have a seat next to Giorno, please."
Jolyne nodded and sat next to him. He looked surprised by her attitude. Despite her fair skin, he could clearly see her paling. In addition, he spotted the disguised expression of anxiousness when she learned that her father was outside.
She was trying to quickly eat her food. If she did not go out and find one of them soon, the uncertainty would kill her.
Giorno was almost finished eating his breakfast. He had wanted to wait for the others, but Mrs. Kujo insisted that he eat. It was not customary in their family to wait, even when she and Jotaro were married. Although, that had everything to do with the man's indifference.
"Thank you, I'm done!" Jolyne said suddenly. "Can I go?
Mrs. Kujo turned to look at her daughter with concern.
"Jolyne, you don't usually eat that fast. Are you feeling okay? You're acting a little strange and..."
"I'm perfectly fine. I just need to get some fresh air. Staying cooped up inside sometimes irritates me, you know." Jolyne wanted to convince her, although her mom did not know how to interpret her actions very well.
"Okay, you can go." The girl inwardly cheered. "But take Giorno."
Jolyne's eyes widened; her luck was the worst. Giorno hadn't expected that either.
"B-but..."
"I don't want to bother," he said with raised palms.
"Giorno, you didn't come here only to stay locked up in this house. And Jolyne, please show him around the neighborhood a little when your father returns. He traveled from so far away to..."
"Ok, ok! No problem," Jolyne said, resigned. She felt like she shouldn't waste any more time. "Let's go!"
As was almost customary, she grabbed Giorno's hand, catching him by surprise until they reached the exit. She opened the door, only to be met with Anasui at the entrance, his arms folded. He looked at them both, especially Giorno, before he noticed their intertwined fingers.
"Jolyne, who is this?" With the evident suspicion in his voice, Anasui examined Giorno from above, being taller than him. Giorno immediately knew his intentions from his words and the way he was looking at him. Instead of letting himself be intimidated, he returned the gaze, raising an eyebrow.
"Giorno Giovanna," he said, reinforcing his grip on the young woman. "And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"
"Anasui," Jolyne interrupted, pinching the bridge of her nose. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough. Now I understand why you didn't want me around. I thought it was only because of Mr. Kujo." He crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "I see you have a friend. Why have you never introduced him to me? I thought you only held my hand like that."
"What?" Jolyne looked down at her hand and saw that it was holding onto Giorno's, whose hold was strong. She immediately blushed. "It's n-not what you think. You know that I do it without realizing it."
"So what if we hold hands? Are you guys a thing?" Giorno wanted to face him without letting go, which pissed the latter off a little.
"Yes, we are. And in the future, Jolyne and I are going to get married."
"No! We're not dating, Anasui," she clarified.
"I didn't say we were, but we're definitely something," he said, emphasizing the last word. "So, don't try anything that you'll later regret, kid."
"Anasui, shut up." Jolyne interfered, seeing that he was spouting very stupid things. "I told you to leave. My dad will return at any moment, and you know he doesn't want you around. Otherwise, I'll kick your ass myself."
Anasui was silent. He would have to resign himself for the moment.
"Okay, I'll only do it because you asked me to. But it's not going to stay that way." He pointed to Giorno before leaving.
After losing sight of the pink-haired boy, Jolyne let out a heavy sigh.
"Great, now I have to worry about you too," she said, referring to Giorno. He understood her perfectly.
"I'm not afraid of him," he said without any concern. "Who is he? Is he your fiancé or something?"
"No! Never. We're just friends, okay? And his name is Narciso Anasui. He can be somewhat crazy and foolish. As long as you don't provoke him, everything will be fine. I only ask that you don't tell my dad he was here. Or he'll kill us all!"
In annoyance, Jolyne sat on the front step of her house, leaning her elbows on her knees and holding her face in her hands.
Giorno was now set free. Seeing her afflicted face, he could not help but feel melancholy for her. He sat next to her and stared.
"I'm so sorry about this, Giorno," she said suddenly. "First, my dad was rude to you and now the idiot Anasui threatened you. You just got here and already your vacation sucks. It's all because of me."
Giorno rubbed his head, not wanting to see her upset. For some reason, he felt the need to comfort her. Jolyne, on the other hand, found that the way he ran his hand through his hair was familiar.
"My vacation isn't awful." He made her look at him. "Everything is very pleasant, and you and your mom have been very kind to me. Aside from that, for some reason, you've been standing up for me, even though I've only been here for a short time. Why trouble yourself with worrying about me? I know how to defend myself. Your friend won't be able to bring me down so easily."
Jolyne couldn't imagine Giorno defeating an angry Anasui. The difference could be seen from miles away.
"What are you saying? Anasui is huge compared to you."
"Don't underestimate me because of my height. Trust me." He didn't say that to look stronger or less weak; he was confident in himself. Still, Jolyne didn't quite believe him.
"Okay, I'm sorry. It's just that it's hard to believe when it comes to Anasui. It might not seem like it, but he's a bit silly, and when he loses his temper, it can be scary."
"I see, so it isn't just his face that looks like it..." Giorno said with a mocking smile, making her laugh.
The morning wind blew, causing both to shudder, but they didn't move. They stared at each other with slight laughter. Giorno suddenly remembered the conversation he had had with Mista on the phone. Now that they were sitting this close to one another, he knew that it was not only her face or her body that made Jolyne attractive but that smile and her charming laughter. Also, her protectiveness and her selfless concern even though he was still a stranger to her. Was it instinct or something else?
Jolyne, for her part, did not know why she felt so calm around the young man, to the point of no longer feeling nervous and laughing serenely at his comment. Thinking about it, she didn't like how her close ones treated him. Why? Usually, she would not care. However, she didn't stop to analyze it, as he was her dad's special guest. Staying with a foreign family must be difficult for him. Yes, that must be it.
"Jolyne, Giorno, what are you doing here?"
The atmosphere was interrupted. Both looked up to find Jotaro questioning them. It was a somewhat intimidating sight, more so with how he had addressed them in a voice deeper than normal.
"Let's go inside. It's cold and I don't want either of you to get sick."
Yeah, right. Even Jotaro knew that that was not the reason for wanting to break the atmosphere that had formed. Hopelessly, their gazes drifted into the house.