(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]

"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.

[youre_the_sunflower]

“Surely that can’t be the only way,” Caesar piped up, eyeing the tiny vial with a hard look. Just seeing the poison so plainly made bile rise in his throat.

[buon_giorno]

“I’ve thought this through from every angle.” The mess of notebooks behind him on his desk was proof. “The fact that it’s fused to your aorta makes removal difficult. Even if we performed surgery and I used Gold Experience to create a replacement valve or slowly turned the ring into a stream of micro organisms, the poison may be released anyway in the process. There’s no possible way to combat an unknown poison without synthesizing an antidote here and now.”

[youre_the_sunflower]

“You’ll die.” Caesar’s nails dug into the meat of his palm as he tried to keep his cool. “I mean no disrespect. But however quickly your power can work, the poison will work quicker.” The Pillar Men didn’t deliver idle threats.

[buon_giorno]

“I’m sure you’re right. That’s why I asked you to be here, Signore Zeppeli. You—your Hamon—it’s the key to all this. You have incredible powers of healing, don’t you? Please keep me alive long enough to give Gold Experience time to work.”

[youre_the_sunflower]

Caesar just stared at him, disarmed.

He had a role to play in this—in saving Joseph’s life—after all.

Caesar looked at Joseph. He didn’t have to think about it long—there was less than a day left. “Understood.”

[nohardwork]

"If there's no other way, there's no other way." He didn't have to like it, but there was no other choice.

"I'm ready when you are, grandson!" Joseph gave Giono a little salute.

[buon_giorno]

Even if he said it with his usual irreverent tone, Joseph’s faith felt good.

Giorno went back and forth with Caesar about the best place to do things and they determined it would be the bed. If he got weak he would have a safe place to fall. Even if it was only an incredibly low dose, they weren’t sparing any risks. When he settled down to sit with Caesar behind him, vial in hand, Giorno reflected on how little he’d actually slept in his own bed at that point. Joseph had made greater use of it in the past week and Giorno—usually intensely protective over his own space—hadn’t minded. Those thoughts passed through his mind as he downed the clear fluid in the vial.

Right away, Giorno felt warm. He didn’t know if it was the poison or the Hamon flowing through him from his back. Gold Experience to was to his front. He didn’t need his stand out but he always felt better with it there. It was the only constant companion he’d had. He reached out to touch it—solid, warm, consistent. His own focus was reflected back in its face as it worked.

“How are you feeling, Giorno?” Caesar asked, his hands firmly on his back.

“I’m fine.”

[nohardwork]

Joseph wished he had something he could do. He knew better than to interrupt their focus with his speaking. So instead he gave Giorno a gentle pat on the head, as if to say "You're doing good, grandson".

[buon_giorno]

Giorno didn’t notice Joseph was touching at first—and when he did, he looked up and just smiled a slightly dazed and faraway smile. His mouth moved but no words came out.

[nohardwork]

Seeing this as a sign he liked it, he gave Giorno's hair a toussle.

[youre_the_sunflower]

“Giorno.” Caesar swallowed thickly. “Your breathing is slowing. Keep pace with me.”

[buon_giorno]

“Oh…sorry.” Giorno clung to the directive, but his lungs felt heavy. Gold Experience began to fade and he lost his balance sitting upright, tilting over and falling against Joseph’s chest.