Blank

Chapter 5

Morio, Japan. 1999

Jotaro closed his small notebook and put his pen away, satisfied with his work so far. Now that all the stand nonsense had been taken care of, he'd decided to stick around a while to work on his PhD thesis.

Ok, so maybe he hadn't exactly decided to stay as much as he'd come back after being slapped with divorce papers.

Quite literally.

The species of starfish he'd discovered here seemed to be a new one and he wanted to jump on the chance for truly original data. Upon mentioning the need for yet another lengthy trip, his wife had taken out a large envelope and, as previously stated, slapped him upside his head with said envelope. His complete shock at his usually sweet and mild mannered wife's behavior had been enough to prevent him from lashing out. That and knowing their daughter was sleeping in her room just down the hall.

So, exactly one week from that day, the papers were filed and he was back in Morio, moving into a newly purchased house.

The house, however, wasn't his purchase. It was Joseph's, his grandfather. According to the old man, he and his wife had decided to take a bit of time away from each other so that she could come to terms with his recently discovered infidelity. Joseph had played it off as a break to rekindle a love gone cool, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that jazz.

What Jotaro got out of the conversation was that the old man had nearly been slapped with his own set of papers and was hiding away until things calmed down at home.

It was also a good excuse to take time and build a better relationship with his 16 year old son, Josuke, that no one knew about until a few months before. Jotaro couldn't fault him for that one.

So, for the past 3 weeks, Jotaro, Joseph and the invisible baby (with the help of a couple of stand user nannies) had lived in a very nice house, right on the beach. Jotaro was able to spend his days, alone, knee deep in the ocean, studying his newly discovered starfish

Joseph even went as far as calling in the Speedwagon Foundation to set up a very well equipped lab in the basement, complete with lab techs, for his grandson to run tests and experiments.

Jotaro thought that this was the closest thing to happy he'd felt since his first kiss. He worked very hard NOT to think about that day. Simultaneously the best and worst day of his life. It was just the luck of the Jostar bloodline to find true love and loose it so quickly.

He shook his head to rid himself of that train of thought. He raised a hand to signal the waitress for more tea and was just starting to enjoy the quiet morning when a voice broke it completely.

"Mr. Jotaro! There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you." Josuke called. He was followed by his friends Okuyasu and Koichi.

Okuyasu waved, "Hey Mr. Jotaro!"

Koichi bowed respectfully, "Good morning, Mr. Jotaro, sir. I hope we aren't disturbing you."

He released a deep, heaving sigh and accepted his fate, "Hey."

The three teens sat with him and ordered their own drinks.

"So, Mr. Jotaro. You and Mr. Jostar are staying for a few more weeks, right?" Josuke asked.

"A month. Maybe more."

The teens all smiled and glanced at each other. Jotaro narrowed his eyes, knowing he was about to be dragged into some of their normal fuckery.

"Awesome! Can we ask you a huge favor?"

Jotaro simply glared at his uncle.

Josuke threw up his hands, "It's nothing bad! I promise!!"

Jotaro grunted.

"It's really not! You see, our class is going on a field trip to S-City next week to some big art show. Thing is, each student has to bring a chaperone. Rohan is going with Koichi but Okuyasu and I don't have anyone. I asked my mom but she has to work. Soooo we were wondering if you and Mr. Jostar would go with us?" Josuke asked. Normally he'd lay on the puppy dog eyes but he knew that'd just piss his nephew off.

"PLEEEAAASSSSEEEEE!!!" Okuyasu begged.

Jotaro, while still suspicious, didn't think this was the worst thing they could have asked him to do.

"When is this exactly?" he asked.

The boy's eyes widened and they all grinned.

"The trip is next Wednesday, Mr. Jotaro, sir." Koichi answered.

"Fine. I'll talk to the old man."

"YES!!!" the teens yelled. They all excitedly exclaimed their thanks before running off, still chattering with far too much energy.

Jotaro sighed again, "Good grief."

***

Wednesday rolled around and Jotaro found himself stuck on a crowded train with too many loud teens and far too many moms trying to get his attention.

When they finally arrived at the art museum, Jotaro stepped up behind Josuke and Okuyasu, placing a hand on their shoulders and squeezing with a pressure just shy of painful. The boys froze, slowly turning their heads to look behind them and up at Jotaro.

Jotaro glared down at them silently. The message was clear; don't start shit or I'll beat your ass. He received nervous chuckles and promises to behave before letting them go. Watching the three teens scurry off, he sincerely hoped they could have one outing that didn't end with stand related bullshit.

Rohan, being the most excited about this trip, immediately excused himself to start the tour.

Jotaro sighed and looked to his grandfather, "Come on, old man. Lets have a look around."

They managed peace and quiet for a little over 2 hours. Jotaro found himself stuck at one of the Australian exhibit that depicted exquisitely detailed ocean scenery. He'd been studying this set for nearly half an hour when the rest of their group rushed up, chattering with so much excitement he couldn't catch a word.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!" He yelled when they finally hit his last nerve, ignoringthe disapproving glares he received from other chaperones. Once everyone was silent, he looked to Rohan, "What the hell are you all bitching about?"

"You need to come with us. Someone has been painting stands. Star Platinum and Hermit Purple, included." Rohan replied

Jotaro suppressed a sigh, 'Juuuust fucking great.' he thought.