JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Thin Air

Chapter Thirty: A Sad Story (Part II)

Shizuka looked her captive in the eyes. Was she empathizing with him? No. Even though he had a tragic past, it wasn't a justification for what he'd done to Josuke, it was merely a reason. Josuke would never intentionally harm an innocent person. Just like all Joestars, he had a noble heart. Even though she wasn't born a Joestar, Shizuka felt bad for Jai, but she wouldn't excuse him for hurting her brother.

"I never should've been on this boat in the first place, Miyamoto! Why are you changing your mind after knocking me out, driving me down Texas and trying to ship me across an ocean? Is it 'cause you know you lost?"

Jai smiled, although there was a somber undertone to it.

"I planned on taking you all the way to Italy while Josuke was trapped in the dream with you. But since you've both defeated me, I consider my task accomplished. The task of getting my mom's honor back in full, that is. There is no need for you to stay on this boat anymore. Leave."

"But..."

Before Shizuka could even think of another word to say, she heard a noise sounding off which she hadn't noticed due to her expressing her anger towards Jai. It was a timer. 

"You have 30 seconds. Leave, Joes... no, Shizuka. Get off the damn boat."

"Hey-

"Get the fuck off this boat!" Jai blasted. "I've decided that I'll end the sad story that my father created with him. I have nothing left to do. And you will no longer be part of it." He said, holding a bizarre looking book which appeared to have a face outlined on its covers.

Shizuka, realizing what the implications meant. She HAD to leave, but it seemed that Jai had no intention of doing the same.

20 seconds were left. Shizuka hurried out into the hallway, not before picking up Jai's revolver. She forced herself to move as quickly as possible, even with a bullet wound in one of her legs. Before she could open the hatch in the cockpit that led outside, Jai called out to her for the last time.

"Shizuka... I thank you for helping me write the last page to my story. Make sure your story ends better than mine." Jai cried, tears falling down his face.

Shizuka stopped to take in his words, but there were 10 seconds left. She couldn't stick around for too long.

She climbed out and exposed herself to the evening sky over the Atlantic Ocean. No other vessels or signs of human life were visible. She pulled an inflatable raft off the side of the boat, and with about three seconds left to spare, threw herself into the water with it. She pulled herself out of the cold salty water and onto the raft just as the sailboat exploded. Hundreds of pieces of various materials flew in all directions at rapid speed, some hitting Shizuka's skin. She covered her head with her arms to protect herself from getting injured even more than she already had. That was the fiery end to Jai and Terunosuke Miyamoto, a tale that, according to the younger Miyamoto, should've ended long before. Shizuka waited in the raft, knowing that the Speedwagon Foundation picked up some kind of signal that would result in her getting rescued. 

~~~

Josuke had stopped the car. He watched as color returned to his body, Achtung Baby's invisibility wearing off of him as well as Crazy Diamond and Nick. He dropped to his knees.

"I've... done it. I saved her." he said, breathing heavily.

Josuke had become exhausted and weak. His psyche had become depleted as a result of essentially teleporting himself across the dream world. Moving took energy, and it seemed that this was still the case in a world that was not real. The scenery around him stopped moving completely, and his vision slowly began to fade to black. The spending of mental energy in the dream world meant an equivalent amount of damage being inflicted to him in the real world.