JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Thin Air

Chapter Fourteen: Mother and Son Reunion

Josuke approached Bryson again and placed the boy's pistol in between his own feet. He crouched down to his level so as to not intimidate the boy any more than he already did.

"So, Bryson, we'll let you go. We won't tell the cops anything either. But before we do that, I'd like to ask you a couple questions. Are you okay with that?"

"S-Sure. Ask away, sir." he said, slowly gaining his composure, but was clearly still inferior to Josuke.

"Great. First question, show us your Stand, and tell us its abilities. I'm affiliated with an organization called the Speedwagon Foundation that uses its database of Stand Users and their Stands to help regulate and create balance. Them knowing about your Stand will help keep yourself and others safe."

"Of course." the boy said. With a snap of his fingers, something remarkable happened. On the road, a fine layer of substance peeled off of every single rock, which were nothing more than ordinary pebbles. The substance then began to come together and coalesce into an object in Bryson's hand. It was soon able to be distinguished as an oblong shaped item with a consistency somewhere between putty and rubber. Then, a solid but thin layer of steel formed around it, resulting in a Stand that took the form of a metal can, with a final addition of a label with the words 'Wrap Your Troubles' being written on it appearing immediately after, as well an image of the contents of said can.

"It's... just a can. I know, it's nothing super impressive-

Monica proceeded to burst with laughter at the sight of Bryson's Stand. 

"What the fuck?" Shizuka whispered while raising an eyebrow.

"Get yourself together," Josuke said to Monica. "And don't make that face either, Shizuka. Sorry, Bryson. Go ahead."

"Okay... well, when I drop the can, and I make an intention, that black goopy stuff latches onto whatever I want that's in a radius of I think a hundred meters. It manipulates objects into the properties I want them to have... hot or cold, hard or soft, dry or wet... that sort of stuff. But it can't cover everything. It holds around 8 and a half ounces, so it can only latch onto a combined area of 156 square inches."

"If its user has the brains, then it can be used really efficiently, you know. It doesn't matter what the limits are." Josuke noted.

"Yeah... I guess so." Bryson said.

"Now... my second question, just because I'm curious... what led you into scamming people who drove down on this road? I won't lie, I did steal as a kid too, a lot. Don't worry, you can tell me. Did you just want some extra cash or..."

"I did it because I needed money. I didn't want to do it but... I'm just that desperate. I can't get a part-time job because the economy is just not great here. I couldn't find any other way to earn money."

"Well... don't you have parents who could give you some if you needed it?"

"Yeah... if they didn't kick me out of the house this morning."

"Y-You got kicked out your house?"

"Yes, by my dad and my stepmom. I've never really had a good relationship with either of them, and it kind of peaked last night. Had a huge fight with them and they told me to get out by the next morning. So I came here and set up my Stand to steal money from others. You guys were the only people to come down the road in that time, so thankfully, I didn't have to."

Josuke's eyes showed his empathy as he understood the boy's plight. He himself didn't have a good relationship with his own father, at least initially. He hadn't even met him until he was 16 years old - the same age as Bryson. Even then, it took an incredible, dangerous adventure that led to him meeting his younger sister, to finally warm up to the man.