Bizarre Adventures - Stories for the Strange

Get Outta My Dreams - Battle Tendency

Get into my car...

I sat down in the plush armchair, letting myself sink into the upholstery. I exhaled and let myself relax. I looked up. People were milling about, coming to and fro, standing and discussing, sitting and chatting. It was almost lunchtime, and Italians need to be kept fed. It just so happened that this hotel had a restaurant on the main floor, just beyond the lobby. How convenient.

I cracked open the book I had in my hand. I loved to read, but I never got to read much as a child. I was much too busy, I had younger siblings to take care of. Now, it seemed I had too much time on my hands. I let myself be absorbed into the words on the page, letting them take me away to another place in a different time.

I looked up again. Beside me, across the end table, my brother sat down with a thud. He leaned his elbow on the arm of the chair and supported his face with his hand. His eyes observed me with slight amusement.

I tilted the book down and looked over at him. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be out with another one of your girls."

"I am," he said with a smile. "I quite like the restaurant here. It would be easier to meet her here than go traipsing across Roma. Might as will fill the time while we wait."

"Sometimes I forget how much you don't like waiting," I stuck a finger in my book and let it close. I give him a quizzical look. "Is this girl different from the others? Or is she just another one to practice on?"

His eyes darted away from mine, almost afraid to answer. " I always hope the girl I am with is the one for me." A slight blush crossed over his face. "I hope she is different, but I won't know until I get to know her."

I open my book again. "I hope you find her soon. If anyone deserves to find love, it's you."

"I don't know about that," he crosses his legs very dramatically. ""You know, you could be looking for a man of your own. I don't think you would have much trouble finding one."

"I..." I felt my shoulders sag. We had discussed this before, and he never seemed to take the hint. "I'm not interested in looking right now. It doesn't feel like the right time for me. Besides, I don't think I would have much luck with men."

"Don't say that!" he dropped his arm and leaned in closer. "You could have any man you wanted. You just need to try hard enough."

I closed my eyes for a moment. "I appreciate your kind words, but we have more important matters to worry about. We are waiting for that phone call from Speedwagon. We should be meeting with him and the Joestar sometime today."

His face twisted at the name. "Joestars. They have been a plight on our family for generations."

"So have vampires. Don't blame Joseph for something that wasn't his fault."

"Caesar?" A voice broke the conversation between us.

We both looked up at the girl standing before us. "Emilia!" My brother immediately dropped the sour look on his face. He nearly jumped out of his chair and took her hand, giving it a polite kiss. The girl giggled a bit. "I am so happy you made it," he said as he rose from his bow.

"So am I," She looked over at me for a few seconds. Her eyes read of distrust, and she had instantly become fascinated with me. "Caesar," she said without looking away, " Who is this?"

He looked down at me with slight confusion on his face. "No need to worry, Emilia." His voice was full of reassurance. "This is my sister, (Y/N)."

Her eyes continued to bore into me. "Ah, yes. I can see the resemblance now." She gave a fake smile. "I can see I had nothing to worry about. I'm Emilia." She offered her hand to shake.