There was a slight breeze out, shoving Joseph's brown locks into his eyes as he hiked his way through the large graveyard. Speedwagon and Lisa Lisa trailed behind him , unsure why Joseph had stepped out so late into the night. He wouldn't speak much to them, regardless of what they asked. They grew suspicious for a moment or so, until Joseph stopped in his tracks, his boots grinding the gravel into the ground. He'd stopped in front of Ceasar's grave. They'd made him a headstone, though his body had never been retrieved from under the stone he was crushed by. Lisa Lisa watched her son's movements carefully as he walked past other headstones as if they never exsisted. His hand reached out and touched Ceasar's headstone, his fingers tracing over the jagged edges of the cross shape. It looked just like what he'd been crushed by. Lisa Lisa saw the glitter that shone off of his hand, and saw the little gold ring fastened tight to his pinky. Wamu's ring. Her heart dropped and she gently touched Speedwagon's arm, who was also watching Joseph intently.
"He's come to grieve." She said softly, just under the sound of the wind.
"Ceasar! It's so nice to see you!" Joseph said as if the man was standing right in front of him where the headstone would have been. Speedwagon and Lisa Lisa exchanged glances. Has the boy gone senile? They thought through their shared look.
"You'd never believe what's happened since you've been gone." He said with the brightest smile. Joseph then took a seat aside the headstone and picked at blades of grass that swirled in the wind of the night.
"First I fought Wamu, it was an amazing fight! I had to light your headband on fire though, but it helped tons!" Joseph started to talk, his hands out in front of him to look at the small golden ring.
"I promised to beat him for you. Lisa Lisa was supposed to fight Kars, but he was a nasty cheat and used a decoy to distract her, then he stabbed her." He explained with a bitter tone to his voice.
"Fighting him was hard, especially after he got ahold of the stone." The conversation went on and Lisa Lisa couldn't help but smile. It was unsure whether or not the smile was out of sympathy or happiness, but her smile never faded as she watched her son in the moonlight.
"Shouldn't we drag him back inside? It's the middle of the night." Speedwagon whispered to Lisa Lisa , concern covered his expression. Lisa Lisa paused a moment, her smile shone brighter as she thought back to when Ceasar and Joseph came to her. She'd never imagined she'd train her own son in hammon. She remembered how close the two had got after they'd practice together. They'd spar in the courtyard until one of them was on the ground whining about how unfair it was. That was always Joseph. Ceasar's voice rang in her ears as the memories flooded back to her.
"You're too impatient, JoJo." He'd say and laugh when Joseph retaliated, and tried pointing out Ceasar's flaws. They'd bicker until nightfall and in their rooms you could hear them laughing together, sounding on the verge of tears. It was almost an unspoken bond. They didn't acknowledge how close they were out loud. Maybe it was out of embarrassment because how they met, but once they mastered their hammon they seemed inseparable. Then she remembered how Ceasar died. How Joseph stood idle, afraid he wouldn't hear Ceasar's voice again. It dawned on her that Joseph might blame himself for the death of his friend. She wondered if he lay up at night cursing himself for not running in and saving Ceasar. If he'd thought about how much better his life would be if Ceasar was still with him. It struck her in such a way she could have stumbled back. She only snapped out of her memories when Speedwagon waved a hand in front of her face. She blinked in shock and looked over to Speedwagon.
"Gosh, seems you're both losing it." He chuckled and looked at her.
"We should leave Joseph be." She said softly and turned around, her hair fluttered behind her as the wind worked through it.
"Be home before morning, JoJo." She called out and heard Speedwagon's steps behind her, knowing Joseph ignored her comment and went on with his stories.
"So we're going to let him sit out here babbling to a stone?" Speedwagon asked as he caught up with Lisa Lisa.
"He's only catching Ceasar up on his stories." She said softly as she gazed up at the stars, her steps light on the gravel path.
"Ceasar wasn't buried here, even in the spirit world he couldn't be here. Aren't ghosts tied to where they die?" Speedwagon asked with soft concern, stopping behind her. Lisa Lisa turned , intensity flourishing in the glimmer of her eyes.
"Ceasar's here. He knows it, or he wouldn't have started to talk." Lisa Lisa explained softly and turned her gaze back to Joseph, who was still talking while he waved his hands in front of him.
"It doesn't matter where Ceasar fell. He would follow JoJo to the ends of the Earth, dead or alive." She said softly, fixing her eyes on the stone. As she peered into the night she thought, for just a moment, she saw Ceasar next to her son looking alive and well. When she blinked again, the boy was gone and again JoJo was talking to the headstone alone in the night. She felt overwhelming sadness tugging at her heart as she watched her son. Even though he looked just as happy as ever, her heart reminded her of the pain she felt when her husband died and she had to leave JoJo alone. She wondered the pain that Joseph felt, though she'd never ask him. She just left Speedwagon away into the night back into town to go home, knowing someone would always be there to watch over her son.
