Chapter Text
it’d been four hours, and josuke hadn’t come home.
the seeds of worry had planted themselves in tomoko’s heart, but now they began to bloom into flowers of dread.
if he was out somewhere, he would’ve given her a call, or a note. it’s the middle of the week anyway, so the chances of him hanging around late with friends is slim.
on top of that, neither his bag nor day shoes were anywhere to be seen.
The panicky mother dialled a number on the phone and swallowed thickly as she waited to be put through.
“morioh grand hotel, with whom do you wish to speak?”
tomoko fiddled with the phone cord.
“hi, i’d like to speak to mr kujo?”
“wait one second, please.”
there was a beep, and then a deep voice echoing from the device.
“Jotaro kujo speaking.”
“Mr Kujo! is josuke with you?” she asked.
the man seemed taken aback by the question.
“no, he isn’t. shouldn’t he be home right now?”
Tomoko swallowed again.
“no, he hasn’t come home from school yet, if he left for somewhere he would let me know!” she spilled.
on the other end of the line, Jotaro stood stock still, large hand gripping the telephone.
“Ms Higashikata… why did you call me first?”
Tomoko sighed.
“josuke… he trusts you a lot. if something happened i know you would be one of the first people he’d go to.”
jotaro was silent for a moment.
“i’ll be right over. call his friends, get them to start a search right away.” he said.
“but won’t the police find him faster?”
jotaro pulled his hat down over his eyes.
“that’s a good point… get them alerted.”
with that, he hung up.
falling back on an old habit, he lit a cigarette. the nicotine helps him calm down and concentrate when he needs it.
a fear set itself in the back of his mind.
what if the police weren’t equipped to handle something like a stand user? calling on their allies with those powers would ensure the chances of finding josuke unharmed… or finding him at all.
jotaro locked his hotel room and charged down the hallway to the elevator.
he only ever worried this much when his loved ones were in jeopardy.
—
Josuke rose from the dark oblivion surrounded by sirens and flashing lights.
his eyes fluttered, blurry and unfocused. there were voices, figures, but they seemed so far away and he couldn’t understand them.
his mind was underwater, and looking through the surface from below.
his environment shifted, and suddenly he was in some sort of vehicle.
a woman’s face hovered over him, distraught, and she said something that, ultimately, josuke would forget.
“Oh, honey, you’re gonna be okay…”
nothing.
-
beep
beep
beep
beep
beep?
Josuke’s eyes cracked open and immediately shut again to shield the brightness.
where the hell am i?
he groaned, and lifted his arm to cover his eyes. a tugging sensation pulled at it.
confused, he opened his eyes and moved his arm again.
there was a cord attached to him.
an IV…? but that means i’m…
his eyes widened and he looked at his surroundings. white painted walls, medical equipment, windows, a heart monitor… was that the beeping?
and beside himself laying in a bed, there was a woman sitting on a metal chair, hunched over and resting on the bed.
josuke tugged his arm again, this time frantically.
what happened to me? why am i in a hospital..?!
josuke sat up, panicked like someone just poured a bucket of ice over his head.
he thrashed and tore off the covers, heart monitor beeping faster.
he had to get answers, he had to see someone, anyone. his breaths were shallow and short, he tried to get out of the room but was stopped by the iv.
josuke began yelling and waving his arm, trying to get the thing off.
his mind was hazy, and he didn’t understand where he really was or why. no one was here except a woman resting on a chair.
speaking of, she stirred and looked up.
immediately she kicked away the chair and rushed over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.
josuke glanced at her face with wide eyes.
“mom..?”
tomoko held his face, and the door opened suddenly.
he whipped his head around to see, but his mother held him in place.
“shh, josuke, it’s alright, you have to calm down.” she said.
that only fuelled josuke’s panic.
who was in the room? why did everything seem so far away?
he started feeling woozy, and the voices around him blended together into a quiet hum. he was guided back to the cot and held by his mom, and once again he was swallowed up by darkness. except this time, it was comforting.
-
okuyasu and koichi opened the door to room 145, the shorter holding a bunch of yellow flowers.
“don’t disturb him, he already had a hard time when he first woke up.” a nurse said.
“ok, thanks.”
the two stood awkwardly in the quiet room. koichi pulled out a chair and sat down beside the bed, staring at his friend’s unconscious face.
“he looks so peaceful…” koichi said. “the doctors told us that he’d be asleep for just a bit longer, i guess that anesthesia is quite powerful.”
okuyasu stood beside the bed and watched the heart monitor blip it’s signal every second.
“koichi… is he gonna be okay?” the teen asked quietly.
koichi’s eyes turned downcast.
“he will, i know it. josuke is stronger than this.”
okuyasu balled his fists.
“that’s what i thought when ma passed away.” he said bitterly.
silence befell the two, the only sounds being the beep of the monitor and the beating of their own hearts.
suddenly, josuke shifted on the hospital cot. both pairs of eyes instantly locked onto him as he opened his eyes.
koichi gasped.
“josuke!”
the boy looked around the room and rested his gaze on his closest friends.
he smiled and reached his hand out, which okuyasu grabbed tightly with both hands.
“how are you feeling, josuke?” asked koichi.
the black haired teen blinked slowly. he didn’t seem to be fully awake, maybe due to the anesthesia or just drowsiness, but he took a bit to digest his words.
“‘feel weird… it hurts.”
koichi’s smile faded away. the painkillers must not be suppressing everything…
“the doctors said you’ll be fine. they did a surgery yesterday, so you must still be feeling woozy from all the medications in your system.” koichi explained patiently.
josuke frowned.
“..what? surgery on where…?”
koichi decided to withhold some information from his friend, he didn’t want to rush his drug hazy mind to relive the suffering he’d endured.
“in your… lower regions.”
josuke tried to sit up, but okuyasu stopped him. he wore a confused expression at the halt.
“you aren’t allowed to walk yet.” okuyasu told him.
josuke relaxed back into the pillow.
“where’s mom?”
okuyasu thought for a second. right, he was supposed to tell ms tomoko when josuke woke up!
he slapped his face and bolted out of the room to fetch the older woman.
three minutes later, tomoko came barreling in sporting a fresh misting of tears to hug her son.
she wrapped him up in her arms tightly and kissed his head.
“my baby boy… the last day has been hell without you!” she cried.
josuke rested his head on her collarbone, returning the warm embrace with peaceful closed eyes. tomoko pet his hair soothingly in fluid motions.
“mom… i don’t remember much…” he said, voice muffled by her red jacket.
tomoko held him tighter, careful of his IV and bandages, and kissed his forehead.
“that’s alright, sweetie. all that matters right now is rest. rest and love.” she said.
-
josuke eventually passed out once again, and his visitors stood outside conversing.
“have the police found out who did it?” tomoko asked the doctor.
the doc scratched his chin.
“it’s been narrowed down to a group of teens, but there’s not enough evidence to convict yet. i’m sure once your son is sound of mind and can recall the events he’ll be able to tell us.” he said.
tomoko nodded solemnly.
“i see…”
the doctor noticed her distress and placed a hand on her shoulder.
“there will be justice for your son, miss higashikata, that i’m sure of. in the meantime, he can recover with the support and love of his friends and family.” he said confidently.
tomoko sniffled and smiled at him.
“you’re right, doc… he has many people to look out for him. i have faith he’ll get through this.”