(no subject)

[julibahana]

"How do you feel?"

Juli felt anxious for Giorno, though she tried her best not to let it show. And true enough, her words came out sounding unworried and confident. Because even though she was concerned for Giorno, she knew that if there were anyone in this world who could help Jojo, it was him.

Comments

[takeba]

"Um. Moving targets?"

[unchill_chuck]

"Um. Okay." 'Not a response I'd stake anyone's life on.' Even if he was nice enough to keep that bit to himself, his expression said it all. "Let me try this...are you looking to contribute with those skills?"

[takeba]

"I guess I really didn't think about that." Now Yukari was feeling even more uncomfortable than she was before the interrogation started.

[unchill_chuck]

“Hey, I was just showing Yukari around today, y’know? Give her a chance to get a lay of the land.” Iris laughed in an attempt to break the tension, putting her hands on the back of the other girl’s shoulders.

Chilchuck rubbed the back of his head and stepped back to set his rag down. “My mistake. I thought this was a pitch. Well…I’m sure you’ll find some way you prefer to contribute. As far as what I run—“

Beep.

Chilchuck turned towards the small window right above his desk, and— “GYAH!”

A shocking blue eye gazed down at him, unblinking. The sight of it was replaced with a long mechanical tendril snaking in to drop a bag at his feet. Chilchuck caught his breath and shouted after it as it retracted its appendage. “Damn it, Zelda! Don’t sneak up on me with those things! They freak me out!”

A young blonde woman gestured in apology as she rounded the corner of the door. “I’m sorry, Mr. Chilchuck! I just wanted to show you how far the guardian tech has come…their fine motor skills have come so far in just days!”

“Yeah, so you can shove more weird crap on me to look at.” He gestured at the other pair. “Look, just make nice while I get it out of the way.”

“Oh.” Zelda looked from Iris to the unfamiliar girl beside her. “A new arrival, then? Well met.”

[takeba]

Yukari was relieved by the intrusion. "Yeah, nice to meet you!" she said cheerily for what felt like the millionth time that week. "I'm Yukari. Yukari Takeba."

[scholarandaprincess]

“I’m Zelda. I serve on the council, but my research keeps me busiest so…please don’t be alarmed if you see the odd mechanical beast following me around.”

“Nah, Yukari doesn’t look scared at all. Unlike some.” Iris thought she was quiet enough but grinned apologetically when Chilchuck shot a glare over his shoulder.

[takeba]

"Takes a lot more than that to scare me."

Yukari didn't want to admit that she had definitely seen weirder. And not on TV or movies, either. Things had changed a lot since she first joined SEES, though.

"So... you research robots?"

[scholarandaprincess]

Iris pulled up a seat to make herself comfortable. There was no asking that and getting a short answer back from Zelda.

“Of a sort…my focus is what’s called ‘ancient Sheikah technology. You see, in my kingdom, we unearthed artifacts from an ancient civilization. Just last month we unearthed the very same technology near here! It has all kind of applications from medicine to agriculture to architecture and even defense. I’m applying it now to assist my efforts in understanding this world we’re in.”

[takeba]

"Oh." That didn't go entirely over Yukari's head, but she got the feeling that if she kept asking questions, it would get to the point where it would. "Have you found anything else?"

[scholarandaprincess]

“Quite a lot! We have a dig site set up—everything unearthed goes through processing for safety, for use, curses, research potential, or cultural significance. I oversee that, so a survey will be making its way to you at some point soon. You’re not obligated to participate, but I would hate if something showed up from your world showed up there and you were none the wiser.” Zelda took her first breath in awhile. “Speaking of…if I may ask, where are you from?”

[takeba]

"Oh, um, Japan. On Earth." Yukari had encountered plenty of people from Earth (or some variant of it), but she had met just as many from somewhere completely else. She got the feeling Zelda was from somewhere completely else.

[scholarandaprincess]

Zelda made a mental note of that as she nodded in familiarity. Many people there were from ‘Earth’, but—

“Oh! Did you say Japan?”

[takeba]

"Yeah, do you know it?"

[scholarandaprincess]

“Giorno has family from there, in fact. He’s fluent.”

[takeba]

"I wonder if we're from the same place," Yukari said. Not Japan, but the same Earth. There were plenty of people out there who came from a totally different Earth than she had. "Maybe I should meet him."

[unchill_chuck]

“You should. He’s not taking visitors at the moment, but give it a few days.” Chilchuck dusted his hands off and straightened out his back as he finished hauling the bags of things onto the right shelves.

Iris whistled. “Wow. You already have something in common with the golden boy. I’ll have to tell Juli to watch out.”

Zelda laughed in a wispy manner and gestured for Iris to keep her voice down. “Well, that’s not…”

Chilchuck sighed and had to resist asking Zelda if Shepard was nearby so he could have an excuse to remove himself from whatever teen drama was brewing.

[takeba]

"What?" Yukari felt like she was out of the loop here.

[scholarandaprincess]

“Where is Juli anyway?”

“Um…I think I saw her about with Giorno just a few minutes ago—“

“Wow! This must be the first bit of sunshine he’s gotten all week.” Iris shot out of her seat. “Hey, Yukari, wanna see if we can catch them?”

[takeba]

"Sure." Who knows when they'd have a chance to catch them again? "Where'd you see them?"

[youre_the_sunflower]

~~

When the door to Giorno's room opened, it was Caesar entering. His eyes met Joseph's (who was told to stay put inside by Giorno and was undoubtedly annoyed about it) and he released a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

The days that Caesar had barely seen Joseph felt like a lifetime--after all they'd been attached at the hip for the last month. His days were filled with trying to feel like anything but as useless as the situation rendered him. So when Giorno approached him personally about Joseph's situation, the kid could have asked him to jump and he would have asked him how high.

"Jojo. How are you doing?"

[nohardwork]

"What? Is Caesarino worried about me?" Joseph couldn't help but tease him over it, as apprehensive as he was feeling himself.

[buon_giorno]

Caesar stepped aside so Giorno could follow, who stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

“Please, have a seat so I can explain.” Giorno took a seat at his desk and Caesar sat down on one of the available chairs nearest Joseph’s bed. “I believe I’ve found a way to neutralize the poison in your body, Mister Joestar. One that should pose little risk to you.”

[nohardwork]

That piqued Joseph's interest. "Oh? How's that?"

[buon_giorno]

Giorno held up a small vial, no larger than a finger nail. “This contains a suspension with the poison I managed to safely extract from you.” The process had been a time-consuming one that involved a complex and delicate process of osmosis, diffusion, and Gold Experience having to render it inert when it passed through Joseph’s bloodstream. It was a lot of effort for only a small portion of it—but a small portion was all he needed.

If they had more time Giorno would have banked on safely extracting it all first, but…

“From this, I should be able to synthesize an antidote. To do that, I’ll be ingesting it.”

[nohardwork]

"Sounds dangerous." More for Giorno than for him. If it failed for him, the results would be the same either way.