〖JJBA - EN〗- Last Judgement

Chapter 8: Lucky day?

South China Sea. November 31st, 1988.

They had to spend the night in the canoes. Enough to say that (Y/N) still had a lot of trouble getting some sleep. Stuck between Kakyoin and Polnareff, she was beginning to shiver with cold when the fog lifted. She regretted making fun of the boys who had kept their uniforms now. She would have preferred to keep her own rather than find herself on the sea shivering. She almost hoped to experience a cliché scene from a romantic movie, where the boy gives his jacket to the girl so that she doesn't catch a cold. But clearly neither Noriaki nor Jotaro seemed willing to give up their jackets to her. Modesty obliges. Needless to say, (Y/N) was all the more grumpy.

As she struggled against sleep, she let herself fall on Kakyoin's shoulder who froze at her touch. Then, after realizing what was happening to him, he gently put his arm around the young woman's shoulders, realizing how cold she was the moment he brushed her icy skin. As a good gentleman, he finally ended up half taking off his jacket to share it with (Y/N), snuggled up against him. In contact with a little warmth, the teenager smiled, discreetly opening one eye to check what had just happened. Mission accomplished. She could sleep peacefully.

This scene made Joseph and Avdol smile, but Jotaro and Polnareff scowled, each for very different reasons. One found displays of affection almost sickening, the other was just very protective of the one he considered his little sister. In any case, they both saw this rapprochement as pure evil. Real killjoys.

In the early morning, (Y/N) was awakened by the first rays of the sun, but above all by the exclamations of surprise from the men around her. She blinked, and a smile appeared on her lips again when she realized that Kakyoin hadn't moved. She whispered to him in a soft voice, still half asleep.

"Thank you Noriaki, you're adorable."

Oh how he would have preferred to disappear. He turned peony red at the compliment and pretended to be interested in the reason for the general excitement: a steamer had just emerged from the fog. (Y/N) admired the redhead's rosy cheeks, a teasing smile on her lips, before she also turned her attention to the huge boat. Strange... no one came to greet them. Polnareff was the first to board. The others followed after a moment of hesitation. The little girl, who had finally revealed to them that her name was Anne, was the last to want to go up. Jotaro offered to help her, which she refused by jumping into Joseph's arms and sticking her tongue out at him.

"Yare, yare..."

"Say, Jojo, I really wonder what she has against you," (Y/N) sneered as she had just witnessed the scene.

"She's just a damn brat, she'll get over it."

"Fuck you, asshole!" Anne cried to him before running to join the only woman in the group.

She burst out laughing and the little girl stuck her tongue out again at Jotaro who lowered his hat before following the others in search of the crew. But the problem was that the boat was completely ghosted, not a sailor on the horizon. And yet, everything worked perfectly. While they had been searching for long minutes, Anne drew their attention to a monkey locked in a separate room.

"It's an orangutan," Kakyoin said.

"Who cares about the monkey!" Joseph exclaimed. "Let's go different ways to find those who feed it."

The men left the room first, but (Y/N) and Anne had the same reaction. They examined the monkey for long seconds, as if oppressed by its presence. But it was only a monkey. Not enough to freak out.

"Come on Anne... Leave that poor beast alone."

They joined the others on deck and were particularly badly received by one of the sailors, freshly pierced by the ship's crane. He was hanging there, and the blood was squirting under his feet. Anne cried out, and (Y/N) had the reflex to hide her girlish eyes with one hand to prevent her from seeing any more. Reflex that Jotaro also had, since she felt his hand on hers at the same time. They exchanged a look and (Y/N) quickly looked away, withdrawing her hand.